Shadows of the Past, Light of the Future
by Silverbits
Summary: Shortly after falling into the Realm of Darkness, Aqua is swept away by a strange force. After waking up on a beach of a new world, she wanders around injured and weakened until she's found and taken in by the Midoriya's. She resolves to protect the world of heroes until she finds a way home to save her friends. When the time comes to leave, she leaves the world in Izuku's hands.
1. chapter 1

**A Light in the Darkness**

How much time had passed?

That was one of the questions that ran endlessly in her mind.

How was she going to escape?

Where in this darkened realm was she?

Is Terra okay?

What will happen to Ven if she's never comes back to wake him up?

She takes a deep breath as she stands back up, reminding herself she has to keep walking forward. To make it through the Realm of Darkness, if she doesn't keep moving then the darkness would swallow her. Nothing good came from staying idle in this place.

She takes a look around, taking in her surroundings, or rather lack thereof. A long, narrow winding path is the only thing ahead of her. The unknown of the darkness, at every angle stares her down. Barely held away by the invisble aura of light that surrounded her.

A light filled with hope, of determination, of sweet memories of her dearest friends. They are what keep her going, what gives her strength in the ever thriving world of darkness.

Even through they're apart, they've saved her before. When hope was waning, and she had been ready to yield herself to the starving, hateful darkness that wnated nothing more than to consume her and drown her in hopelessness. She had bowed her head, grit her teeth, and welcomed death with open arms. The large creatures that towered over her were more than eager to destroy her.

That's when they came, the powerful keys that had once meant to serve light, answered her silent plea for hope, for a reason to keep moving. They had torn through the monsters like they were nothing, just like those strange creatures they had banished, they banished away any doubt she had. Renewing her resolve to keep moving forward, and to keep searching. But most of all, returning her hope, to once again see her friends.

She held tightly to the charm she made, the small item bringing comfort to her.

As she walked, the question once again rose in her mind.

"How much time has passed?" She asks herself, her soft voice seming to echo endlessly in the void.

"Weeks? Months? Years?" She murmurs softly, receiving no answer from anyone, or anything. It felt like forever since the events of the Keybalde Graveyard, and Radiant Garden. Yet it felt like it was just yesterday. There was no way to tell what happened when, and how long ago it did.

When was the last time she had taken a short rest? Maybe a few minutes ago, maybe hours. Perhaps even days.

Time doesn't exist in this world, only the shadowy creatures and dark intentions.

And the dark, hungry force that seemed to follow her.

How long it's been there, she doesn't know. She felt it appear around the time she had nearly surrendered herself to death. After she had begun to walk forward, she felt it. It was faint at first, distant almost. It was more like a nagging feeling in the back of her mind.

With each step, it seemed to draw closer and closer. Each step she took forward it seemed to take great strides towards her. The closer it got, the more pressure she felt from it. It had evolved from a faint feeling of worry, to an outright fear that made her want to break into a run. She refused though, to let that invisible force frighten her and make her run away. It would come eventually, and whether she liked it or not; she'd have to face it at some point.

Aqua takes a moment to take another look around. The surroundings have changed somewhat, instead of the void that carried the unknown, there were now large rock formations. Gray and black, there are small blue crystals imbedded into the formations, offering a bit of light.

A change in scenery, does that leave her better off or worse? Probably worse, she was most likely far deeper in the dark realm. And the deeper she went, the more malicious creatures waited for her.

She stops in her tracks, looking up to see a large archway. Almost like a gateway, to a pitch black world. Dark, yet darker. Her eyes strained to peer into the black fog, it was almost like a veil. Meant to hide away anything that could be seen from the outside, meant to beckon the curious inside.

"Interesting..." She mutters to herself, so even the Realm of Darkness seemed to adapt to the visitors. Evolving to draw people in, and consume them without a shred of mercy.

She takes a deep breath, looking at the wall of darkness. A shiver runs up her spine as she feels the force that chases her take longer strides to get to her. It must figure she's cornered, thinking she wouldn't dare step further into the darkness she both feared and hated.

Well it was wrong.

She summons her Keyblade, feeling the great power materialize itself into her hands. She looks to her weapon, a heavy weight in her chest.

No, this isn't her Keyblade...it was her _Master's_.

It was strange, this Keyblade. It wasn't her's, yet it seemed to accept her as it's master. Lending itself to her in the absence of her true blade, it accepted her; and she was relucant to accept it back. It was an internal conflict, a feeling that she shouldn't be weilding it even though she knows she must use it in order to survive. Yet a feeling of relief and comfort, a warm emotion brought on by the familiarity of Eraqus's blade. As if his spirit was with her, guiding her.

An unpleasant coflict, but one she endured.

"Aqua!"

Her head snaps up, turning to look behind her.

Nothing was behind her, but the long path she's been walking this entire time. Did she imagine it?

She shakes her head, reminding herself to focus. She can't afford to be distracted, not right now. She turns back to the wall of darkness, readying herself. She wasn't sure what to expect from what may lie inside.

"Aqua!"

The familiar voice rang out again, sounding scared. She looked back towards the source of the call, seeing and hearing nothing else. She bit her lip, looking away once more. Fear creeping up her spine, goosebumps appearing on her arms. She begins to walk towards the large archway.

"Aqua!" The voice called out, sounding more familiar. Desperation and fear evident. It sounds like...

"Ven?"

"Aqua! Aqua we're here!"

"Ven! Terra!" She throws caution to the wind. Had she been here longer than she thought? Did Terra make it? Did he find Ven, and wake him up?

Did they come for her?

She hesitantly takes a step forward. Then another, and another; breaking into a run after a moment. She could hear them calling to her, they sounded relieved, and scared.

"Aqua, hurry!" The voice belonging to Terra yelled, prompting her to run faster.

"Terra! Ven! Where are you!" She yells, still running.

Hurry...here!" The voice sounded faint, like it was fading.

She grits her teeth, how far could they possibly be? She has to hurry, who knows how long it would be until the path to the Realm of Darkness opens up again. She looks around, seeing the rock formation fade away again, make up the long winding road.

"Terra? Ven?" She calls out again, not hearing them call for her again. She begins to slow down, slowing down to a jog before coming to a complete stop. She strains her ears, not hearing their voices. Was she too late?

She looks around, looking or any indication where they may be. A glint of light, the glow of armor. Any kind of signal to her escape, any kind of evidence that her friends were out there. They saved her once, surely they would come to save her again.

She waits for a moment before shaking her head, wiping her eyes before turning back the way she came.

"You're letting this place get to you Aqua...they're not here..." She tells herself, walking forward before hearing a voice right behind her.

"No...but I am." A soft voice giggles, sending chills running up and down her spine. She jumps back and looks behind her, gaining some distance between her and...her?

The voice behind her, belonged to her. Or rather...a copy. The mimic has a soft, mocking smile. Calm and cool, in response to her shock and surprise. She seems perfect, save for the eyes. Unlike her bright blue orbs, the copy's were a deep, deep blue. Close to black. They seemed to hold some kind of malicious intent.

"Who are you?" Aqua demanded, finding her voice after a moment, summoning her Keyblade.

She frowns as the mimic chuckles, summoning the same Keyblade.

"I'm you of course." She says, nonchalantly. Toying with the blade, twirling it around and dropping it after a moment. Looking down at it and humming, seeming to have lost interest in the item.

Aqua opens her mouth to object to that claim, until she's cut off.

"Everybody has a little dark side Aqua, espacially you." They walk up to the woman, eyeing the blade that could be used against them at anytime. "In a moment of pure hopelessness you just bowed your head and was willing to die. Never, have I tasted such misery, such despair. I must admit, I was just as surprised as you were when you were saved. Pure luck, something that tends to run out quickly around here." They hum, playing with a stray blue hair on their head.

"I'm going to ask you again, and this time I want a real answer." She starts, tightening her grip on her weapon. "Who are you?"

The copy huffs, impatient. "You can't be this dense. You _are_ a Keyblade Master aren't you?" They begin to walk in a circle around Aqua, only being followed by piercing blue eyes. "Or, maybe Master of Failure would suit you better. I mean, you pretty much failed at all the duties you master gave you!"

"You h-have no idea what you're talking about." She says, mentally scolding herself for allowing herself to stutter.

"Really? Well let's go over everything shall we? Master Eraqus asked you to bring Ventus back after he ran away; you failed at that. You had found him twice, and you let him get away. Then there was the request that you watch over Terra, oh you failed at that spectacularly! You were supposed to save him from himself, keep him from teetering off the edge, and instead if anything, you encouraged him!"

"Shut up!"

"Remember how he felt so betrayed? That hurt look on his face. You sure felt bad then, what about now though? I mean, supposedly he's safe right? Then again...you _did_ just dump him back into the Realm of Light and left him. Just like you left Ven." They shrug, smirking at her. "Did I strike a nerve? Oh I am so-"

The copy wasn't able to finish their sentence, the business end of a Keyblade pointed right at their throat. They look to Aqua's face, grinning at the enraged look on her face.

"Oh, are you-"

"Shut up." The copy noted the slight tremble. "You have no idea what you're talking about. And you have no business, none!" She grits her teeth. "To be talking about my friends. So get out of here, and leave me be."

The copy rolls their eyes. "I can't believe you." It sighs. "You still haven't figured it out?"

Before Aqua could respond, she sees a flash of light and feels the end of her Keyblade pressed against her throat. She meets the gaze of her copy.

"I am _you_."

Aqua barely had enough time to react when the copy had thrust forward, almost cutting into her throat. She jumped back putting a bit of distance between them.

"And I intend to drag you down into the deepest, darkest pits of this realm. And watch you be consumed by darkness!" She grins, her dark eyes flashing. A ring of yellow appearing around her pupils.

Aqua readied herself. "I won't let that happen." She responds, a promise. Between both her copy and herself.

The chuckles and rushes forward, a pale blue light appearing at the edge of the blade. Aqua jumps back, watching large spikes of ice cut into the air where she had been a moment ago. Looks like it was a pretty good copy, it was able to mimic her high spell casting abilities. But could it mimic her skill?

 _Let's see then._

She rushes forward, jumping over the spikes and bringing the blade down where the copy is. Momentarily surprising her. The sound of the blades clashing rings out into the darkness. Aqua's blade bad barely grazed the copy's face. Blocked barely in time.

Before the copy could counter, Aqua roughly pushed her away, staggering her; and swept her legs under the feet of the copy. She saw the copy fall to the ground but quickly roll back onto her feet.

"Nice move, you ever use that on Terra?"

She smirked as she watched the woman bristle in anger, and come running towards her again. The copy readied herself for a swing, only to see a large ball of fire racing towards her. She dodges to the side and looks to the woman. She doesn't look back as the bright flames crash into the ice she left behind, it makes the ground beneath them quake violently.

 _Calm down, she's trying to get a rise out of you...and it's working..._

"That's rather wreckless you know? Keep it up, and you might end up falling. Then where will you be?"

Aqua frowns, looking to the long path she's been walking. It seemed like it would be sturdy, instead it was rather fragile. The area where the large blast from where the conflicting magics collided left that path crumbling. It could probably support their weight if they didn't make such large clashes.

"Well, who really cares. All that matters is that you defeat me, right?" The copy tilts her head, a small smile on her face. A smile that quickly turns to a frown. "And I'll be damned if I let something as petty as your light to strike me down." The ring of yellow around her pupils seemed to slowly consume her dark blue eyes; sending a chill running down Aqua's spine.

She yells as she points the Keyblade to the sky, a dark yellow light shooting upwards. Leaving Aqua in a moment of confusion, until she hears a violent crackle. She gasps and puts up a barrier as bolts of lightning crash down around her. She watches in worry and fear as the ground around her begins to crumbles under the powerful force. She grits her teeth and yells as she forces her barrier to shatter outwards, crashing and further shattering from the bolts crashing around her.

She forces herself to move forward, her mind flipping through the next series of spells to use. Just enough to give her time and hopefully stun the mimic long enough for her to get a solid hit in. Magical ability was a near perfect, technique and skill? She seemed rather wreckless and more risk taking. What about her physical body though? Was she as tough as Aqua? Could she handle hard hits, or would she shatter under a single, precise strike?

She forces herself to focus as she jumps up, the air around her getting colder and colder. She yells as she shoots a large, spiked sphere of ice towards the mimic. Creating an icypath in mid air for her. She takes the icy path, sliding down as the mimic casts a large fireball to her sphere of ice. When they collide it shatters the icy path she had been using, leaving her in mid air. A thick mist obscures both their vision, leaving the two blind to each other's actions.

Aqua tightens her grip on the Keyblade, sending lightning crackling along the edge of the blade before she had sent the spell in the direction where she had last seen her copy. She lands onto the ground, quickly putting up her barrier as another wave of ice comes barreling towards her. She grunts in effort to keep the barrier up, feeling the magic force pressing hard against her.

She yells, making the barrier explode outwards, giving her a moment to dodge to the side to avoid the rest of the impaling spikes. She runs towards the source, trying to listen for any clue where the copy could be; the mist still lingering.

"Where is she..." Aqua mutters, to herself. Ears straining and eyes darting around. She receives no answer, from either herself or her adversary.

"I'm right here!" She yells, causing Aqua to whirl around. Unable to react fast enough to block or put up a barrier, the copy's Keyblade driving through her side. She yells in pain and rips herself from the blade, holding her bleeding side and looking to the copy's smirking face. The blade had been covered by shadows, shaped into a sharp edge of a long sword. The shadows dissipate after a moment, leaving the copy with the normal form of her weapon.

"Oh look at that, isn't that unfortunate?" She shrugs, flicking the blood of the weapon. Smiling in response to Aqua's scowl.

Aqua grits her teeth, standing up straight. She raises her Keyblade above her head, casting a minor healing spell. Only stopping the bleeding, not fully healed. It was both a physical and mental strain on her; taking up quite a bit of energy. Eraqus's Keyblade may accept her as it's master as a person, that doesn't necessarily mean that it accepts her fighting style. It wasn't wielded by a person who has a more magical affinity, it had been wielded by a more balanced individual. Not depending too much on one force or another.

The new Keyblade had seemed to quarrel with her on this, having setback a bit of her skill. She was no longer able to use a majority of her old spells, now only left with her basic spells and her skill.

"Well..." Part of path crumbles and disappears into the darkness. "Now that you're better. Care to continue? Master Aqua?"

Aqua steels herself, getting ready for the next trade of blows.

It was a delicate dance between the two, between trying not to fall of the edge, trading blows with both magic and blades; and trying to minimize the damage of the pathway. Their clashing beginning to attract a few creatures that are drawn to the ire of the Keyblade Master and her arrogant copy. A few shadows begin to creep around the edges of the collapsing path, aching for the negative energy that seemd to radiate from the battle.

Between trying to block out the copy's mocking words, using vast amount of energy she didn't have, and trying to keep her ever growing temper leashed. Aqua began to grow exhausted, it felt like the battle had been going on for ages. When perhaps it had only been seconds, or maybe hours. The creatures began piling on top of each other, stumbling over each other to try to get to one of the combatants. They would fall off and be blasted away by the powerful blows of the two.

The two race towards the safer parts of the path, the less worn and damaged parts. Trying not to fall into the dark abyss below them.

However, as they run and rush towards the next gateway of darkness the path is strained under their running fight. Continuing to break and disintigrate under their feet. They begin to run out of figting ground as they begin to approach the large archway from before.

"Just give up!" The copy screams, looking as exhaused as Aqua. Sustaining similar injuries to her quarry as well. She yells as she brings the blade down, being blocked by a similar one.

Aqua grunts in strain, the wound to her side had reopened. She feels warm blood run down her side, crimson seeping into the blue cloth. She yells as she pushes the copy away and jumps back. Gritting her teeth against the pain, wiping a bit of blood from her brow. She couldn't find enough time or energy to heal herself, even a little. If she used up too much she wouldn't be able to fight anymore.

"Never!" She responds, steadying herself. She watches the copy run towards her, feeling the path crumble beneath her feet. She braces herself, a plan forming in her mind.

"Fall to the-"

Aqua dodges to the side, swinging the Keyblade in an arc; feeling it slam into a half formed barrier. She jumped back and pointed the weapon to the ground, tensing as she forces flames to appear. A large, raging ball of flames immediately crash into the ground, causing the pathway to collapse and burn away.

"No!" The copy rushes forward, barely able to keep up with the running figure of Aqua. She jumps over the gaps that appear ahead of her, trying to catch up to her origin.

"You can't escape me Keyblade wielder!" She yells as she runs onto stable ground, quickly catching up to Aqua. She was surprised when the woman had whirled around and dashed forward to meet her, the blades ringing out.

"I am the darkness in your heart!" She pushes Aqua away casting a large ball of fire her way, only for it to barely be canceled out by a significantly smaller ice spell. Aqua jumps up from the mist and forms a barrier as a large bolt of lightning had come down upon her. She should have known her barrier wouldn't have been able to hold properly. Shattering instantly and leaving raging sparks to dance through her body as she was slammed to the ground. She groans, trying to get back up. Only to feel a foot press down her her neck.

"I am every ounce of guilt that crosses your mind when you think about your pathetic friends!" She cuts off Aqua's airway, making her choke and gasp for air.

Her copy watches her for a moment, absolute disgust and distaste in her eyes.

"I am the hatred that manifests torwards yourself when you think about what you should have done. All the regrets of what you should have done! Like taking care of those sorry whelps!" She removes her foot from Aqua's neck, allowing her the precious oxygen. Not even a moment later the air was knocked from her relieved lungs as she was kicked in the stomach.

Aqua coughs as she looks up to her copy, trying to will herself to get up.

"I am that heavy weight that fills your heart when you look to that Keyblade! Because you know!" Aqua yells in pain as the copy slams her foot into the wrist that holds Eraqus's Keyblade. "You! Are! Unworthy! Worthless! Pathetic!" She screams. Repeatedly slamming her foot into Aqua's wrist with every word. Both of them hears sickening cracks from the beaten wrist. One of them taking sick delight, and the other only able to yell in response to the pain.

"You can't even get up to beat me! What on earth makes you think you can save your friends!" She yells, looking to the battered, beaten woman below her. Scowling when she doesn't get a response of any kind.

"...Get up...hey! Get up! Get up and fight!" She kicks the woman in the side repeatedly, rage taking up her mind at the moment.

"Did you hear me? I said-"

"You're right..." A soft voice says, prompting the copy to wait for a moment. She looks down, seeing fat tears rolling down Aqua's face.

"What?"

"I said, _you're right_..." Aqua forces herself to sit up, her body aching in protest. She's barely able to keep the grip on the Keyblade on one hand, and in the other she clutches her charm tightly. Her copy takes a step back.

"I _am_ pathetic...I'm _not_ strong..."I can't even win against _you_ , the darkness in my heart." She grunts as she forces herself to her feet. Looking to her shadow with tears in her eyes, holding up her weapon; shaking terribly. "But that doesn't mean I'll stop fighting!"

"Even though there's no point?" Her shadow asks, her piercing yellow eyes staring her down. Dark shadows slowly begin to appear at the copy's hands. The shadows running up the sacred blade. Forming it into a large, malformed sword.

"The point, is to keep fighting! I won't let the darkness win! I'm going to beat you eventually! I'm going to find my friends, and I'm going to save them!" Aqua yells, gripping the Wayfinder harder, asking, begging for some kind of to be lent towards her. Feeling deflated when she feels no one answer her call, like no one if there.

 _Terra! Ven! Please, lend me your strength..._

Nobody came.

"Are you sure about that?" The shadow grins, watching the desperate Aqua mentally beg for any kind of help. She begins to walk forward, watching the woman back up a bit, limping.

"I am! I'll keep walking...they'll find me..."

 _Please, I know you're out there..._ "Really? They won't even answer your call now." She holds up her dark blade. "But it doesn't even matter." She raises the blade.

 _Please! Anybody...anybody out there...please! Lend me strength..._ "Fall to the darkness!" She swings the blade down, a wave of churning darkness racing towards Aqua; tearing up the ground undernath it.

Aqua puts up her Keyblade to block, unable to summon her barrier. She knew it was a futile attempt, but at least she'd go down fighting.

 _Please..._

She clenches her eyes shut, waiting for the darkness to tear her apart. Her broken wrist protesting painfully against her feeble attempt. She expected to feel nothing but cold and pain, surprised when the attack crashed into her blade; making her grunt in effort. She opens eyes, looking up and looking at where the dark wave should have struck her.

She's met with the shocked face of her copy, feeling herself equally surprised. Where the Keyblade was, was a great sword of warm, comforting light. She watches the radiant force slowly climb down from the hilt to her wrist. The light wrapping itself around her arm, feeling her shattered wrist slowly begin to heal. She looks once again to the blade before blinking tears from her eyes.

 _Thank you..._

"What!"

Aqua shakes her head looking to her quarry.

"I told you. I'm going to defeat you, and I'm going to save my friends!"

Her shadows looks over her radiant blade and grins, as if she knows omething Aqua doesn't. "Prove it." She smiles, pointing the deformed weapon towards Aqua. Tendrils of darkness rising from the abyss below swirling around the copy. After a moment they come in waves of darkness, barreling towards Aqua.

Aqua races towards the oncoming forces, cutting through the swirling masses of shadow and malice that continually try to smother her final effort. She yells as she dashes through the shadows, cutting through them as if they were nonexistent. Bright light surrounds her, keeping the shadows around her at bay.

Aqua looks to her mimic's face, seeing the fear and disbelief in her eyes. She doesn't let herself feels a shred of guilt as she breaks through the guard of the shadowy Keyblade, hearing the yell of pain and surprise. Aqua yells as she drives the blade through her copies chest, hearing her choke in pain. She keeps her eyes casted downwards as she hears the darker counterpart of the Keyblade clatter to the ground.

"H-Hah...well...would ya look at that." The copy looks to her origin. "You actually beat me, surprisingly." She taps the blade lightly, her finger disintegrating after the touch.

"I told you I would..." Aqua huffs, reganing her breath, not moving at all. "My friends...they heard me..." She says softly, her body trembling. She feels exhausted, yet so relieved.

Her mimic scoffs, earning a sharp glare. "Don't be stupid, that." She points to the blade protruding through her chest. "Was not your friends, don't lie to yourself. You know it, I know it..." She chuckles. "They didn't answer your pathetic plea for help."

Aqua frowns, shaking her head in disbelief. It had to be them right? Who else could it be?

"You haven't quite won yet, you know? Not even close." She shakes her head with a smile.

Aqua frowns. "What do you...what do you mean?" She asks, her knees shaking. She uses whatever energy she has left to stay upright, somehow still maintaining the new form of the Keyblade.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten already Master Aqua." She replies, spitting out the last words. "I'm _you_. I am the darkness that has slipped into the small cracks in your heart, and forced them to open up wider and wider. Looks like you were able to fight back...for now. But you'll never be rid of me. I'll always be right there, lurking in the darkness depths of both your mind and heart. You can _never_ get rid of me." She says, mostly gone. Her lingering yellow eyes glaring daggers into Aqua's blue orbs.

As the solid form of the mimic fades away Aqua falls to her knees, whatever was left of her borrowed strength finally faded away. Her blade returns to it's normal form, and the small cast of light on her wrist fades away. Her wrist mostly healed from the crush injuires.

She looks over her healed wrist and then to Eraqus's Keyblade.

 _If it wasn't Terra and Ven, then who was it?_

The thought continually runs through her mind, trying to think of who it could have possibly been to save her.

As she ponders over the possibilities, none coming to her mind, she's interrupted with a loud crumbling noise. She looks down in horror as she realizes the long road that had been home to the violent crash was finally giving way. Unable to support any weight upon itself anymore, it starts to crumble and disppearing into the dark abyss from below.

In alarm she tries to get to her feet and dash away, only to find herself unable to move. Her body feels like dead weight, and her limbs refuse to obey anymore desperate commands. She feels stunned as the ground below her gives way, she feels her throat close up with a withheld scream as she begins to fall.

She can't even muster a yell as her heavy body plummets downwards, into the deep, deep darkness.

A feeling of hopelessness overtakes her as she sees the path she had been treading for a long, long time. Was this it? Was this what it came down to? How it ended? After she had been able to beat back the phantom that had been haunting her from the beginning? She was doomed to be consumed by the darkness anyway?

No, this can't be it. This can't be how it ended!

She feels hot tears beginning to sting her eyes. Was she not meant to see her friends again? Ever?

As she continued to fall, and the darkness around her grew greater and greater; emptiness and hopelessness began to replace her newfound hope and power. Of course, she figured, in her current pathetic state, unable to even defeat her own demons on her own, no wonder Terra and Ventus refused to answer her call.

She closed her eyes, ready to accept whatever fate had in store for her, feeling the air around her grow colder and colder. It wasn't until a bright light shone before her, that she had snapped out of her daze. It's so warm and welcoming, like a gateway to a better time. She reaches for the light with a shaky hand, seeing it grow brighter and brighter as it begins to envelop her.

The last thing she remembers is the sensation of falling through a dark sky.

 **-KH x BNHA-**

A small child hums as he draws his idol on paper, a smile on his face as he imagines his own life as a hero. He's only interrupted with the sound of the doorbell ringing.

"I'll get it!" His friend yells to his parents as he runs to the front door.

"Wait for me Kacchan!" The child calls, hurrying after his friend.

"Katsuki don't open the door! I'll be right there!" The blonde child's mother calls from the kitchen.

"Too late old hag!" The child laughs as he manages to unlock the door and open it with a bit of difficulty. He looks up to the smiling visitor.

"Mama!" The three and a half year-old says happily, running forward and hugging the woman.

"Hello Izuku, did you have fun with the Bakugo's?" She asks, picking up her son. She looks up as a blonde woman emerges from the kitchen.

"Inko! Hey, how was work?" She asks as he puts a hand on her own son's head. Ruffling his hair and giving him a look saying she'd scold him later.

"It was fine, I'm sorry I had suddenly dropped this on you so suddenly." Inko apologizes, having asked her friend Mitsuki to pick up Izuku from daycare last minute when she had been called in to work later than she was supposed to.

"It's no problem, he keeps this little shit busy. So that's a plus." Mitsuki looks at her own son as she says this.

"Hey!"

Inko gives a soft chuckle. "Well, it's late. I'm sure you have to put Katsuki to bed soon, I'd better start heading home. Izuku looks worn out as well."

"No I'm not..." Izuku whines softly, rubbing his eyes and yawning softly.

Inko laughs. "See you later Mitsuki." She watches the door close before she turns away, looking to her son as they begin their walk home. "Did you enjoy spending time with Katsuki dear?"

"Yeah! It was fun, we played tag...and drew and..." He yawns again, shaking his head. "We played heroes too! It was fun."

"Well I'm glad you had fun dear." Inko smiles, looking to the sky. She wasn't sure if it was just her but, the night sky looked a bit darker than usual. She hums softly, hearing Izuku hum along with her after a moment. She stops suddenly when she hears her son gasp loudly, scaring her.

"Mama look!" He yells, making her look to him in alarm.

"What is it?" She asks, seeing him look towards the heavens.

"It's a shooting star!" He exclaims excitedly, watching a bright blue light streak across the sky. It looks so close, yet so far away. He hears his mother gasp in awe, murmuring an 'amazing' under her breath.

Neither of them were sure how long they stood there, staring up into the sky. Neither of them had snapped out of their awe until Inko had realized Izuku had begun to cry. Fat tears rolling down his face as he watched the falling star.

"Izuku, honey what's wrong?" She asks, concern filling her voice. She watches her son wipe his eyes, sniffling as he tried to stop the tears.

"I-I..." He stammers, finding it hard to form words. "I feel sad, for the star. It's falling, doesn't that mean it doesn't have a home anymore? It won't be in the sky anymore..."

Inko watches her son for a moment before smiling softly and hugging him tightly. "Oh Izuku..." She looks to the sky, seeing the star begin to fade away. She rubs small circles into his back, trying to think of something to make him feel better. As she thinks, she begins to recall an old story her own mother and told her about the stars.

"You know, when I was your age and whenever I saw a falling star; I'd be sad too..." She starts, walking forward at a slow pace. She feels Izuku's attention on her. "I'd always think they'd be leaving their place in the sky, unable to go back. But by mother told me, that when stars fell they never really left the sky. They were just going to another part of their own world, sometimes it was because they lost their way, other times it was because the stars were looking for something."

The child looks at his mother. "What would they look for mama?"

"My mother told me that some stars were looking for a new home, or for a safe place. One time she even told me that they were looking for their family." She sees their home up ahead.

"Huh?"

"That's a story for another day dear." Inko unlocks the door and heads inside. "Now get ready for bed, I'll be right there to tuck you in." She places her son down and watches him nod tiredly as he walks off.

Izuku finishes wiping away the tears, trying to keep any more from spilling.

The real reason why had had started crying...

Was because the star had sounded so sad, as it lost it's place in the sky. He felt it's heartache, and it's silent wish for a second chance.

Oh how he wished he could grant it.

 **-KH x BNHA-**

 **Welp, this happened. Consider this a pilot chapter, I might write more in the future.**

 **A majority of this was written on a sugar rush in 2 in the morning.**

 **Fuuuuuuuun**

 **Have a nice day/night everybody!**


	2. Chapter 2: Found

**Found**

The first thing she feels is cold ocean waves washing over her, the salt stinging the wound in her side.

The second thing that comes to her consciousness is the feel of hot metal under one hand and the grainy feel of sand under the other. She feels the heat of the sun beating down on her, the air hot and thick.

The third thing that finally comes to mind is the real question.

 _Where am I?_

She inhales sharply as she tries to sit up, only succeeding to roll onto her back. Her already shut eyes, shut tighter, the sun coloring her eyelids red. She groans as she lifts an arm to cover her eyes, her body aching in protest.

Beads of sweat roll down her face as she tries to remember what happened, her mind replaying the fight.

 _We fought, I won, then I fell..._

Her mind goes blank for a moment.

 _I fell, in the realm of darkness but..._

She suddenly remebers the warm light that saved her, then the sensation of falling.

Is she...

She sits up suddenly, giving herself a throbbing headache. She groans, one hand holding her head and the other supporting her. Once the dancing spots in her eyes fade away, leaving her squinting from the bright sunlight she takes the moment to look around.

She's on a beach, littered with piles and piles of trash. Everything is stacked upon itslef, a rather precaurious area. There's nobody on the beach, of course. No one would want to spend time at the trash ridden beach. There were a few birds perched on the more sturdier stacks, they hop around, taking the time to either stare her down or fly away. In the distance she can see a city full of tall skyscrapers.

"I'm in the Realm of Light..." She murmurs softly, slowly getting to her feet. She presses one hand to the temporarily closed wound, she gasps sharply then adjusts to the dull throbbing. She takes another look around, gazing at the bright blue sky decorated with a few fluffy, white clouds.

A smile crosses her features, a few tears prick at her eyes.

"I'm in the Realm of Light!" She says, louder this time, as if it were a fact she had to reassure herself of. She blinks away the unshed tears. "Ven...Terra...I can find you now." She mutters to herself.

She takes a moment to bring herself back down to earth from her elating discovery. She asked herself the question again.

"Where am I though?" She tries to think of any world she's seen or heard about that could give a clue as to where she was. How much time had passed? Did one of the worlds she visited in the past advance?

Or was she in a completely different world?

She hums to herself as she concludes that yes, it _has_ to be a different world. She looks around, finally figuring she's stood around like an idiot long enough. She has to get moving and find out more about her surroundings, and maybe find a place to rest and recover.

She looks out to the expanse of the beach she has to cross, she couldn't help but mentally curse the people who dumped all their trash there. Why? Isn't there any better place for some to dump all this stuff?

She thinks over the thought as she slowly makes her way around the beach, haphazardly stepping around leaning towers of garbage, growing a bit uneasy when they creak loudly and sway ever so slightly.

It takes some time, but soon she finds herself on the other side of the beach, sweat pouring down her face and her already sore body aching even more. She feels her wound burning slightly, raising a little bit of concern. She sets herself down on a small set of stairs that led to a walkway above which would probably lead her into the city. She presses herself into the wall, trying to somewhat escape the merciless rays of the sun.

Aqua wipes away a bit of sweat, taking in her surroundings again, trying to come up with a plan of some kind.

 _I need to find out more about his place...but I also need help._ _I don't think I'm strong enough to cast anything, and I don't know too much about first aid..._

She tries to think back to anything Master Eraqus might have told them when in a situation like this. She finds herself unable to focus on anything other than the throbbing pain in her head, and the burning sensation throughout her body. She applies more pressure to her side, thankful when she feels nothing but pain, no reopening and no fresh blood.

How long would that last though, she was sure to strain herself one way or another. Making her way across the beach felt like a trial in itself, how would she fare just walking out in the open? In a world she knew absolutely nothing about?

Maybe someone would take pity on her and offer help?

She was tempted to scoff at the idea, considering her luck but...that didn't stop her from hoping.

She leans back and sighs, trying to will herself up. Her eyes grow heavy as she begins to debate whether she should get up or not. Her mind slowly leaning towards staying where she is and getting more rest. She tries to argue with her hesitant decision, but finds herself unable to come up with a good enough reason to.

 _I'll just rest for a little while, and when I regain a bit more energy I can get moving..._

She nods to herself, taking in a shaky breath as she reaches for her charm. Smiling as she brings it close, a warm, familiar comfort tin an unfamiliar world.

 _Not too long, just a short while._

She hums to herself as she tries to make herself comfortable, a futile attempt but one she made anyway.

 **-SotP-**

 _I made us good luck charms._

 _I get one too?!_

 _Of course, one for each of us._

 _Somewhere out there, there's this tree with star-shaped fruit...and the fruit represents an unbreakable connection. So as long as you and your friends carry good luck charms shaped like it, nothing can ever drive you apart._

 _You'll always find your way back to each other. Technically, I think you're supposed to make them with sea shells, but I did the best with what I had._

 _Oy, sometimes you are such a girl._

 _Hey, what do you mean "sometimes"?_

 _So this isn't a real good luck charm?_

 _Well, that's yet to be seen. But I did work a little magic on it._

 _Really? What?_

 _An unbreakable connection._

 _Together...always._

 _That would be the last night we ever spent beneath the same stars._

 **\--LotF-**

A small child hums softly as he continues coloring in the picture he drew. He sat alone at a small table, the only child left at the daycare. One of the supervisors was sitting with him, watching the boy grab the crayons he needs.

"What are you drawing there Izuku?" She asks, smiling as he looks up excitedly. He lifts up the paper and shows her.

There are two figures in the picture, both have green hair and are looking at the night sky. A bright blue streak is flying across the sky.

"Oh, that looks great."

"It's the shooting star my mama and I saw last night." He tells her, putting the paper down and working on finishing the night sky.

"Oh, you saw a shooting star last night? That's amazing, I wish I could have seen that." The woman smiles, looking up when she hears the opening of the door.

"Oh, hello Mrs. Midoriya!" The supervisor greets, seeing the small boy look up.

"Mama!" He quickly puts away the crayons and takes the paper, running to his mother. He smiles and hugs her legs, feeling her ruffle his hair softly.

She sighs and looks at the supervisor. "Thank you so much, I'm sorry I'm late. My car broke down, and I wasn't able to get it towed until at least an hour passed and..." She sighs, looking exhausted.

"It's alright Mrs. Midoriya, I'm just glad you're okay. I had gotten a little worried when you said you would be late."

"Yes well, no need to worry I'm alright." She looks down when her son tugs on her shirt, smiling as he holds up a picture to show her. She takes it and looks at it, smiling after a moment.

"Oh Izuku it's lovely!" She kneels down and hugs him. "This is going right on the fridge once we get home." She promises, carefully putting it in her purse.

"Do you need a ride home Mrs. Midoriya? I'm sure I can-"

"Oh no dear it's fine! We have to go to the store anyway, and our house isn't very far from there." Inko takes Izuku's hand and waves a small goodbye.

"Bye bye Ms. Yami!" Izuku says as they walk out.

They leave the daycare, the dark sky the indication of how late it is.

"The sun is already asleep?" Izuku asks, looking up to his mother. That explains why he's so tired.

"Yes, I'm sorry I was so late dear." Inko apologizes.

"It's okay mama. So why are we going to the store?" He asks.

"We're just going to pick something up for dinner dear." She answers. "And tomorrow we can have Katsudon!"

"Yay!"

The two talk about Izuku's day, how Katsuki hadn't been there today and how he tried to tell the other kids about the shooting star. Nobody believed him and said if there were a shooting star, they all would have seen it.

"I ended up drawing all day, making that picture." He tells her, not noticing the concerned look on his mother's face.

She would often hear about how he would only play with Katsuki, or a how a few kids didn't want to be around him. He always tries his best to make frieds with everybody, but would be rejected one way or another. The only one who would stay by his side out of everybody, was the aggresive little Katsuki.

"I'm sure you worked very hard on it." She smiles, looking up as she sees the store up ahead. The street was mostly empty, save for a few stragglers trying to hurry home.

"So what should we get for dinner Izuku?" Inko asks, walking inside the store, sighing as she sees a few employees packing up.

The boy hums for a moment, looking around before spotting a refridgerated section. "How about some sandwiches?" He looks up at her, smiling when she nods.

"Come on, let's hurry. The store's going to close soon."

She lets go of his hand and watches him run over to the colder side of the store. He stared at the selection before him before trying to reach for one small sandwich high above him. She smiles as he grunts in effort, trying so hard to get it himself. She waits for a moment before picking him up and lifiting him up so he could get his desired sandwich.

"What did you decide on Izuku?" Inko asks, looking over to the small package he grabbed.

"Roast beef!"

"Oh, that sounds good. Mind grabbing one for me?" She asks, seeing him nod and reach foward quickly to grab her one as well. He smiles up to her and shows it to her.

"Great job, now let's get ourselves some chips and I can make us some tea at home." She says, putting him down.

They start to walk towards the cah registers, where they grab their own chips before paying.

"You two just made it just in time. We were about to close up." The man says as he scans the items.

As the two adults have a small chat, Izuku starts to look around. He looks out the store window and sees a strange figure slowly making their way across the street. In the same direction they would have to walk to get home.

He bites his lip and looks at the adults, looking back to the window where the figure disappeared. He whimpers and holds the hem of his mother's shirt.

"Mama?" He asks softly, keeping his eyes trained on the outside. He does his best to scan the shadows from afar, trying to spot the strange figure he had seen before. He kept searching, again and again. Unable to see it, did he imagine it?

"Thank you." Inko says, taking the bag from the man before turning to Izuku. She frowns when she sees his face. "Izuku honey is everything okay?"

"H-Huh?" Izuku looks up, his concentration breaking. "Oh, I just...I just thought I saw something outside..." He mumbles. Maybe he was imagining things, he was pretty tired.

Inko looks to her son, then to the window. She couldn't see anything outside, so maybe he was seeing things? What if he wasn't?

She bit her lip, home wasn't very far. She could pick up Izuku and run if she had to but...there was no villain activity in their neighborhood. They should be fine.

"Okay, let's go home now Izuku. Come on, hold on tight to my hand okay?" She feels the toddler take her hand, warm and comforting.

They walk out of the store, towards their home. It was a relatively short walk, just a few turns around street corners.

Inko was a bit tense, but managed to hide it from her son. Always anxious to get to the next street light and out of the shadows. Her son on the other hand was unable to hide the worry in his eyes. He kept looking around, even the slightest whoosh of wind made him look around in panic. The only anchor he had to pull him out of his fear was the warmth of his mother's hand.

It wasn't until they were in the neighborhood park that they began to feel some of that anxiety leave. Maybe Izuku _did_ just see something. Maybe they were just worried for nothing.

Inko hummed a small tune, smiling when Izuku hummed it back. Their own little song of echoing melodies.

"Mama, how far..." He yawns. "Are we from home?" He asks, rubbing his eyes. His eyes began to wander around, looking around the empty park. The still swings, the dark sandbox, and lonely playground. As he took another look around he saw something shiny on the ground. He's not sure what drew him to it, he momentarily let go of his mother's hand and picked it up.

"Woah..."

"Izuku? Honey what are you..." She stops when she sees the small item her son picked up. It was a blue charm in the shape of a star. There was a strange symbol in the center that seemed to hold it together. She also noticed that it had a brown string connected to it, like it was meant to be worn as a necklace.

"It's pretty." Izuku murmurs, wiping a bit of dust off of the charm. He felt a strange force from the item, a warm feeling that offered protection and reassurance. He also felt that it didn't belong to him, it was a different feeling than just something that you should return. It felt like a uge to return it to it's owner, that whomever had it, really needed it.

"It is, I wonder who it belongs to though." Inko says, taking Izuku's hand. "Maybe you can take it to daycare tomorrow and see if one of your friends lost it?"

She sees him nod silently, and they begin walking again. Only for a short moment though, as they turned the corner to their street Inko halted suddenly.

Off to the left, under a dim streetlight she saw a figure sitting on a bench. She heard ragged breathing and saw a soft light coming from the hand that was pressed to their side. They were hurt...but who were _they_. A homeless person injured in a scuffle? A usual resident she hasn't seen before? A villain that managed to get away?

She shakes her head.

 _You're getting ahead of yourself Inko._

They're hurt, and in need of help.

"Mama?" Izuku asked softly, peeking around her to see the figure. He frowns, seeing they looked hurt. He was silent for a moment before looking up to Inko. "Mama, I think we should help them..." He felt the charm vibrate in his hand, as if giving him approval.

Inko looked to her son, then nodded. She began to walk forward, towards the figure. She saw after a moment the light from their hands ceased, the dim streetlight left. From where she was she could hear the tired pants and the grunt of effort. She saw the figure make an attempt to stand up, knees wobbling. They tried to take a step forward and fell down with a yelp.

This made the two rush forward to the figure.

They got closer, and Inko could see that it was a young woman. Short blue hair that didn't even touch her shoulders, her clothing was in tatters in some places, burnt and ripped up. What concerned Inko the most though was the dark red stain on her side, she couldn't make much of the wound. But she knew it wasn't bleeding excessively and from the red stain on her shirt it had been a while since she had bled.

"Young lady, young lady can you hear me?" Inko asks, helping her when she insisted on trying to get to her feet. She saw Izuku looking worriedly up to her, his gaze darting between the woman and her.

"I-I'm fine..." She murmurs, a lie. "I just, I just needed a bit of rest." She tries to walk forward, almost stumbling over. Thankfully she was caught before she could meet pavement again.

Inko frowned, putting on her stern look.

"No young lady, you are clearly _not fine_. You are hurt, and you're out here alone in the dark. Listen, I can either call an ambulance and get you to a hospital; or you can let us help you and come with us to our home."

She didn't miss the surprised gaze she received. "N-No ma'am please. I'm okay, p-please don't go to the trouble of..." She trails off, unable to make any excuse under the concerned and stern look. It was the same look her master would give her whenever she did something wrong and tried to lie about it, or she tried to brush off any kind of injury.

"I think...I'd rather stay with you." She mumbles softly.

Inko nodded. "Come now dear, we don't live far from here. You think you can walk on your own? Or do you want help?" She asks, seeing the young lady shake her head. She watches her steel herself and stand up straight.

Inko looked down when she saw her son yawn again, he was barely awakr at this point. She sighs and kneels down, picking him up and gathering the grocery bags in her free hand. She motions for the strange girl to follow her, and made sure she stayed right beside her.

Inko was sure to walk slow so bluenette could keep up. Assuring her that they were almost to their home, and pausing every once in a while to try and help her with her free hand. The young lady kept assuring her that she was fine, and she could walk despite her occasional stumble.

The girl looked to the child that would sleepily look up every once in a while. Giving a small wave and a groggy smile before leaning his head on his mother's shoulder again. He would fall asleep for a moment, then open his eyes, trying to stay awake.

"Our house is right over here." Inko smiles, seeing the relieved look on the girl's face. She quickly unlocked the door and showed her inside, guiding her to the living room.

"You can rest on the couch for the moment, I just have to put Izuku to bed." Inko smiles putting the bag down on the floor and shaking him awake.

"Izuku honey, I need you to wake up for a minute." She smiles as he groans, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head.

"I don't wanna..."

"You can go to sleep in a minute, you just have to change into your pajamas okay?" She gives a small laugh as he tries to walk towards his room, not doing much as he's still being held by his mother. They head to his room for a moment, leaving the girl alone.

She looks around, almost scared to sit down, even though the kind woman gave her a place to stay she still felt like she was intruding. It was a small home, a single story. From where they walked off to that was where her son's room was, and her room was probably down the same hall. She was in the living room, she could see down another hall what was probably a kitchen.

Her body ached, begging her to rest. She was mentally exhausted as well, having pushed herself further and using Cure. Draining her of whatever energy she might have anything left, barely able to stay conscious.

 _Maybe, it would be alright if I rested here..._

She walks over to the couch, slowly sitting down and sighing in relief. She leans back, the soft couch cradling her tired body. She felt herself reaching for one of the throw pillows, bringing it close and hugging it. It was warm.

She takes a deep breath as she closes her eyes, unable to shake the eeling that something was wrong, that something was missing.

That feeling didn't last long as she once again slipped into the world of sleep.

 **-SotP-**

 **Hello everybody!**

 **One, I'm sorry I got this out really really late. And it seems a bit rushed. I was sick and I've been trying to get this out for a while.**

 **Two, the next chapter is probably going to be a bit longer than this, that's a promise.**

 **And a three, to answer a few questions from the reviews. No, .2 did not happen. But I will be sure to show the consequences of what happened when she wasn't there later in the story. And this first part of the story is going to take place in Izuku's childhood, the second half (I'm not sure how many chapters this will be to be honest) Will feature Izuku as his teenager self.**


	3. Chapter 3: A New Home?

**A New Home?**

She wasn't sure when she woke up the first time, but it felt like early morning. She heard the woman calling for her son, Izuku, to hurry up and get ready. She heard him respond with an 'almost done' and she heard footsteps nearing her. There was the sound of paper rustling and the pitter patter of footsteps running off.

She heard the opening and closing of a door before she fell asleep again, hearing a soft 'bye bye' that made her smile.

When she woke up again she felt it had to be about mid afternoon. She felt a bit better, not as tired; but given the chance she would gladly go right back to sleep. She laid there for a moment, groaning to herself as she made herself sit up, realizing there was a soft blanket draped over her. She took in her surroundings, the bright light coming in from a window an answer that she was right to her previous assumption. It was about mid-afternoon.

She looked around, wanting an exact time. Getting her answer when she spots a clock on the wall opposite of her.

2:31

She groaned and stretched a bit, looking around again. This time her eye caught onto two papers that were sitting on a coffee table. She leaned over and took both of them in her hand, one of them was a note while the other was a drawing. On top of the drawing there was her charm. She nearly gave herself whiplash with how quickly she luged for it, she almost lost it?! She wanted to see what the drawing was of, but she felt she should read the note first.

 _Hello young lady,_

 _I made this small note for you in case you wake up while we weren't home. I didn't want to wake you up so early in the morning._

 _In case you get hungry, I packed a lunch for you in the fridge. Second shelf from the top._ _If you're still hungry feel free to help yourself to snack from the pantry._

 _I'm sure you might want to freshen up, so I set aside a few old clothes of mine that should fit in in the bathroom. Down the hall to the right, you can't miss it._ _Spare towels are under the sink._

 _I do hope you feel better dear,_

 _Inko Midoriya._

Aqua read over the note again and again, surprised by the woman's hospitality. She didn't even know her name, she just met her last night after she collpased.

She clearly cared for her, there was no doubt there. Through her groggy and exhausted state from last night she could sense a warm light from her, a feeling she couldn't quite place, or name. The best way to describe it was that, she was a mom.

She hums to herself and turns her attenton to the other piece of paper that had been waiting for her. The first glance she took she culdn't help but feel a smile on her face.

A child's drawing, a bit messy but it was still decipherable. There was a blue girl smiling, holding the hand of the green boy. The boy had a small blue star in his hand smiling up at the girl, he was saying "I hope you feel better soon!"

There was a small arrow on the bottom corner, pointing to the right. The words 'go back' were scribbled under it.

 _I have a feeling the blue star is yours, it's pretty. I also think it's very important to you. Hope you feel better :D_

Even he barely knew her, he hadn't even exchanged words with him at all last night. There was only a smile smile and a wave.

"They're so nice..." She murmurs softly. She placed the papers down, and was about to lay back down again until she felt the sharp pain of hunger in her stomach.

 _That's right, I need to eat..._

How long had it been since she ate? Since she had a full meal? Months? Years?

She sighs as she gets up, wobbling for a moment before steadying herself. She takes a deep breath before she begins to walk forward again, towards where she figures the kitchen must be. She was pleasntly surprised to find out she was right, seeing a stove and a fridge. The counters were clean, and whatever was on them was neatly organized. Each one obviosusly a work station for a certain task.

She slowly walked over to to the fridge, slowly opening it.

 _Second shelf from the top._

Ah, there it was.

Packed in a small brown bag with no labeling; but out of place enough in the mostly organized fridge to show it was meant for her. She grabbed the bag and closed the fridge, walking over to the empty table. She sat down and opened up the bag, pulling out a few triangles made of rice, a part of it wrapped in what was probably seaweed. She looked over the food for a moment before taking a bite. What was inside was salty, and had a very fishy taste to it...salmon maybe?

She hadn't realized how hungry she was until after that first bite. She quickly ate all of the rice balls, feeling much better once she was finished. She sighed after a moment, taking a look around the room. There were a few pictures on the wall, one of an old couple. Maybe grandparents? Another of a pair of boys, one with spiky blonde hair and red eyes, a confident grin across his face. The other boy the green haired child, bright green eyes full of happiness and awe.

He had a friend, a very close one if he's in a picture on the wall.

She smiles to herself, when she was younger, taken in by Master Eraqus by that time, she had seen pictures of her and Terra on his desk in the study. He cared for them, so much. Taking care of them since they were children, and then...

She shakes her head, getting up and cleaning up. Quickly throwing the empty paper bag in the trash, before making her way to where the bathroom should be.

"Down the hall, and to the right. There."

She opens a door to a regular sized bathroom with a shower, sink and toilet. On the side of the sink she saw the colthes that were meant for her, folded and waiting. A blue shirt and a black pair of shorts that would probably reach just below her knees.

She stepped inside an closed the door, locking it behind her. She turned on the shower, hot water creating steam almost immediately. Before she steps into the shower, her own clothes folded as neatly as they could be, she takes a look at herself in the mirror.

She's pale, like she hasn't seen sunlight in ages.

Ha.

She looks exhauted, dark rings under her eyes. The look further accentuated with the birds nest her hair was. Messy and all over the place.

She took a deep breath before turning to the side and looking over what was once a serious injury. The deep laceration was closed, it would most definitely scar despite her magic. It was a bit red, hopefully just irritated and not infected. It had taken a lot out of her, just to move around with it. It had taken even more out of her to push herself and muster up the energy heal it.

She looks to the side as steam begins to fog up the mirror, going over and stepping into the shower.

Hot water felt _amazing_ , she would be the first to admit that. It felt nice to wash off all the grime that she was covered in, most of it sweat and some of it blood. She was a bit hesitant to use any of the shampoos, conditioners, or body washes; still a prominent feeling of intruding. She was eventually able to convince herself that it was fine, barely,

She finished up quickly, stepping out and grabbing the spare towels under the sink. Drying off quickly and getting changed into the spare clothes.

Seriously, how was she going to thank this woman for being so kind?

 _This is temporary, don't get too comfortable. You know as soon as you're recovered, you have to leave. Not to mention, maybe she only planned for you to stay for one night._

She looks down, that's right. It was temporary. She can't stay, now that she's in the Realm of Light again, she has to find a way home. Back to Terra and Ven...

How was she going to get home? She exactly use the lanes between, she would be unprotected against the darkness. Not to mention she might not be able to make a gateway.

Where in the Realm of Light was she? How far away was she from the worlds that were so close to home?

What's going on with Terra and Ventus?

Are they okay? Do they know where she is?

Could one of them be looking for her?

Do they even want to see her again, after she had left them so suddenly?

She shakes her head, trying to stop those thoughts. That dark hopeless thinking that made her want to just stop.

She would get home, she would find away. She would do everything in her power to find her way back to them, that was a promise.

She reached for where her charm would be, freezing after a moment when she didn't feel it.

"Where...Where is it?" She mutters, looking around for it. She was stuck in a msall moment of panic until she stopped and realized it was safe, she left on the coffee table. She nearly slaps herself for how stupid she was.

She dries her hair the best she can, then finger combs it into being tame once again. She hangs the towels up on the rack to dry, then leaves the bathroom.

She walks quickly back to the living room, a bit anxious to get her charm back. It just felt _wrong_ not to have it on her person. It felt like something was missing, an awful anxiety she could live without. As soon as she picked up the charm, a wave of relief washed over her. She sighs and sits back down on the couch, looking over her Wayfinder.

Even after all it's been through, it still looks pristine and new. Still it's bright blue, and the string held up nicely. No signs of fraying or ripping apart. Even the small star on the end is in good condition.

"A good luck charm, that's supposed to help guide my way back to my friends..." She sighs softly, laying down again. She keeps the item clutched tightly in her hands, a comfort in this strange place. The only familiarity she has.

She'll find her way home, somehow.

 **-SotP-**

She hadn't realized she fell to sleep again, not until she woke up.

This time, she woke up to the sound of pots and pans clattering, and the sizzling of something. There was humming coming from what was probably the kitchen, a woman. That must be...what was her name? Inko? Yeah, that.

She slowly sat up, looking down to see the blanket had been placed over her again.

She groaned a bit as she stretched her arms out for a minute, rolling her shoulders as she looks around. Everything looks the same, except now the clock reads 7:34.

As her eyes scan the room she spots the small boy peeking around the corner, watching her. She smiles and gives a small wave, watching an excited grin creep across his face as he started bouncing up and down.

"Mama! Mama! Onee-chan's awake!" He runs into the kitchen.

"Oh?" She hears Mrs. Inko's voice.

She swings her legs off the couch and stands up, wobbling a bit. She got up too fast.

She waits for the blinding colors in her vision to settle down before she looks to the woman who gave her shelter.

She was a bit shorter than Aqua, her dark green hair went down to her shoulders. Some of it was tied in a neat bun. She wore a white shirt with a long-sleeved pink cardigan, and a medium length blue skirt. She looked relieved to see Aqua in much better shape.

"Hello young lady, how are you feeling?" She asks, a small cup of hot tea in her hands.

"I'm feeling much better ma'am, thank you so much." Aqua thanks, gingerly taking the cup of tea that was handed to her. She saw the woman sit down on one of the other couches, and motion for her to sit down as well.

Aqua does as she's told, she doesn't really have any authority here, and what business does she have defying someone's request. She takes a small sip of the tea, it burns her tongue a bit. She flinches, earning a small laugh from the woman.

"It's hot dear, freshly made. I recommend you give it a minute to cool down." She smiles, watching Aqua slowly set the cup down. "And please dear, call me Inko."

Aqua nods. Okay Inko it is.

"My name is Aqua ma'am- uh, Mrs. Inko."

"Aqua?" She asks, looking at her for a moment. Like she was expecting something, like a follow-up of some kind. "No last name?"

Last name? Is that what Midoriya was supposed to be? Why does someone need two names? It seems a bit needless and possibly confusing.

 _They're probably common around here._

She shakes her head. "N-No. We don't really use last names where I'm from." She answers, finding herself fidgeting. What was wrong with her? Did her time alone really deprive her of her social skills? The hell...

"Oh, interesting." She smiles, watching the young woman play with her fingers. "Are you alright? Last night we found you right as you collapsed. You looked exhausted, and...I believe you were injured." Her voice takes on a concerned tone. Something she han't heard directed towards her in a long time.

She nods a bit. "I'm okay now, thank you. I was just suffering from exhaustion. It was nothing." She waves her hands, trying to play off the need for concern. Honestly the sooner she was out of this kind family's lives the better, they didn't need someone like her around. Especially since they probably had their own difficulties, and the chance of her staying for long was low...maybe. Hopefully.

 _You're not going to be able to get home, not anytime soon._

She felt a pang of what could only be described as guilt when she received a look of what was probably disappointment.

"Then why was there blood on your clothes?" She raised an eyebrow. "If you were attacked by someone young lady, you should tell the authorities. You could have died, and with that amount of blood, you were lucky. Honestly I can only hope that who or whatever attacked you was caught."

She rubs the back of her neck. What was she supposed to say to that? That she was attacked by a copy of herself?

Well she doesn't need the whole truth.

"I...I was attacked but..."

 _You are really bad at lying._

"I was able to take care of it, as for my injury. It's mostly healed, that's what I used most of my energy on." She says, there a bit of the truth.

"Healed it? You have a healing quirk?" She asks.

Healing quirk? What on earth is a quirk?

Before she could question what Inko meant a timer had gone off in the kitchen. Inko excused herself for a moment as she rushed towards the kitchen, probably afraid to burn something. She rushed out, leaving a confused Aqua.

She sat there for a moment, before picking up her tea and blowing on it a bit before taking a small sip. She smiles.

Peppermint.

As she sips at her tea it takes her a moment to take notice of the small head of green curls hiding beside the couch. He was kneeling down, peeking over every once on a while. When she looks over he yelps and and ducks down again. She gives a small laugh.

When he peeks over again she gives a small wave.

"Hello." She says softly, earning a small wave back after a moment. She smiles at her, a bright grin of happiness only a child could muster.

"Hi!" He says back, walking over to her. "What's your name Onee-chan?" He asks, holding out his hand. "I'm Izuku!"

Onee-chan? What did _that_ mean?

She takes his hand, shaking it lightly. A warm feeling blossoms in her chest the moment she takes his hand. She feels it then, a bright warm light that radiated from him. A light that seemed to be made from kindness and hope, an almost healing, and encouraging aura to it.

"Such a bright light, almost akin to that girl if not stronger..." She mutters to herself, her mind going back to that one moment she had felt that light from the little girl. When she clung onto her for safety.

He smiles at her softly, then looks to the blue charm that sits on her lap. He then looks back at her.

"Was I right? Was that your charm?" He asks, looking at the blue star. "It felt like it was supposed to be with you." He says softly.

Aqua nods, picking it up and showing it to him.

"Yes, it's a good luck charm I made. It's called a Wayfinder." She tells him, watching him look over it in awe. "It's really important to me, thank you so much for finding it. I hadn't ecen realized I lost it."

"You made that?" He asks. "So cool! It must have taken a long time!" He was hopping from foot to foot, so much energy.

"It uh, it did actually." She hums, rubbing the back of her neck. "It took me a while to get it right." She smiles, remembering the frustrating long nights she had spent trying to put all the pieces together carefully. So many times the charms had fallen apart despite her efforts. She accidentally set her desk on fire after one of her late nights, quickly put out before it could have gotten worse. Despite her best efforts a few burn marks remained on her small desk. Much to her dismay though Terra had been standing outside her door when the small, yet violent fire broke out.

"Izuku! Aqua! Come on, it's time for dinner!" Inko called.

Izuku gasps and grabs Aqua's hand, pulling her towards the dining room. "Come on Onee-chan! We're having katsudon!"

She looks down to him as she was pulled along by the hyper child. "Onee-chan? Izuku what does that mean?" She asks as they arrive to the table.

Izuku stops at the table and looks at her for a moment, before yet another smile creeps onto his face.

"Big sis!"

Big sis? She felt her face grow warm. This child, who barely had any kind of interaction with her was already referring to her as his sister? This was the first time she had any kind of dialouge with him!

A big sister huh? It sounds nice, it probably would be but...

She watches the child climb onto the chair, scaring her for a moment when he almost falls down. He quickly catches himself and scrambles onto the chair, laughing triumphantly. She hears the woman give a chuckle as she places three bowl down on the table. One at the head of the table, and two across from each other on either side.

"Please sit down, I'm sure eating dinner while standing up wouldn't be too comfortable." Inko waves her over to the seat meant for her. Sitting across from Izuku.

"Come on Onee-chan! Mama's katsudon is the best!" He watches her sit down slowly before digging into the meal himself.

"I hope you enjoy dear."

Aqua looks down at the bowl of hit food placed in front of her. A bowl of white rice, topped with some kind of meat, what was probably egg, and a few vegetables. Next to the bowl was a cup of cool water.

A warm dinner, when was the last time she had that?

When was the last time she was able to sit down with people who cared about her and enjoy a meal? Talk about their day? Or make fun of one of her friends, occasionally teasing the Master?

How long has it been since she's been able to take a moment to breathe?

She takes a piece of pork, and a bit of rice before tasting it.

The pork is salty, and the rice is a bit sticky. Her mouth burns a bit from the food, but that's nothing compared to the burning of her eyes. Once again she realized how starving she really was. Like she hadn't eaten at all earlier. She wasn't aware she was crying until Mrs. Inko had snapped her out of her thoughts.

Her head snapped up, suddenly feeling the hot tears that steamed down her face.

"Are you alright?" Inko asks, looking concerned.

"Onee-chan, why are you sad? Izuku asks, looking a bit upset that she was crying. She swallowed the lump in her throat, and opened her mouth to answer. Only to see Izuku run past the table, a little green blur.

"Aqua dear, are you sure you're alright?" Inko asks again, passing her a small tissue.

"I'm..."

"Onee-chan!" The little green blur came back, tugging at her sleeve and prompting her to look down. She sees him hold up a small doll with blonde hair wearing a suit of blue, red, and white with a big smile. She took it gently from him and felt him hug her. It prompted a few more tears to run down her face as she hugged him back.

"I-I'm fine. I'm just...I'm just happy." She says softly, watching the child look up in confusion.

"But tears are for when you're sad!" Izuku says, his eyes starting to water. "Aren't they?"

Inko smiles. "Not all the time Izuku, sometimes there are happy tears."

Aqua laughs a bit then pats Izuku's head. "Maybe you should finish dinner, I'm sure it's getting cold." She smiles, wiping away her tears. He nods and hugs her again before running back to his own seat, climbing on top of the chair and giving another smile.

They continue their dinner, Aqua stays silent and listens to Izuku talk about his day. He tells them about how he played with someone named 'Kacchan'. He went on about how cool he was, and what heroes they drew together.

"I can't wait to get my quirk! And I can't wait to see what Kacchan's quirk is!" He cheers, his bowl now empty. As he got down from the chair and began helping the other two gather the dishes and clean them. There was this comfortable silence between the three of them, only interrupted by the occasional yawn from the child.

Dishes clanked together and water splashed onto the counter tops. The small yawns come more and more frequently, and Izuku was getting more and more sluggish. Moving slowly, all of the energy he had now gone and giving way to exhaustion.

"Izuku honey why don't you get ready for bed?" Inko says softly, kneeling down and running a hand through his soft curls. He nods tiredly and trudges off towards the abthroom to go brush his teeth.

While he trudges off to get ready for bed, Inko turns to Aqua. Concern riddling her face, especially when she seems to sense apprehension from her.

"Are you sure you're alright?" She asks, putting a few dishes on the dish rack.

Aqua nods. "Yes ma'am I'm fine. Don't worry it was just..." She trails off, not sure how to put it in words.

Inko was silent for a moment before looking at the young lady.

"Young lady do you have a place to stay?" Inko looks to her, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. She feels her tense a bit before relaxing, turning around to face her.

"I..."

"Do you have anybody you can call? Parents? Friends?" She looks worried.

Aqua shakes her head. "I-I don't ma'am but I don't want to bother any more than I have. Honestly, I can't thank you enough for what you've done for me. As soon as finish helping you here, I can take off."

Inko didn't miss the flicker of sadness in her blue eyes. She gently grabs her arm.

"Young lady look at me." Inko insists. Putting on a face that begged for the truth, she watches the blue hiared woman slowly look at her. Inko waits until her blue gaze meets her own.

"Do you have a place to stay?" She asks again, and another unspoken question underneath that.

Are you safe?

She watches the blue haired woman think over her answer, before looking back into those green eyes.

The truth.

"I don't..."

"Do you have anybody you can call? Parents? Friends? A guardian of any kind?" She asks again.

She sees Aqua grit her teeth and clench her eyes shut, trying to keep tears from spilling. She lets out a shaky sigh before opening her eyes again, unshed tears glistening.

"No." She whispers.

Inko pales and takes her hands.

"How...How old are you?" She asks, not sure if her guess would be accurate or not.

Aqua looks down. "I'm about 17..." She mutters.

Inko leads her over to the living room, sitting her down on the couch.

"What happened?" She asks, grabbing a small tissue box and handing it to her. Placing it next to her when she shook her head.

Aqua shook her head, everything that she's been through. Going from world to world, looking for her friends and fighting off monsters. Feeling that divide between her and her friends grow greater and greater. Even when their master had been struck she stuck by her friends, fought alongside them. Lost the battle beside them.

How was she supposed to speak about the darkness she wandered in, the dark intrusive thoughts that plagued her mind time and time again. How she was beaten by her shadow, the manifestation of her weakness and fears. She was not meant to break the old rules that had been taught to her ever since she had been taken under the Master's wing.

Do not disturb the world order.

Even if she were to tell her everything she might not believe her.

This world, it seemed like a space of it's own, far off from the other worlds.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a hand shake her shoulder gently, being met with the concerned gaze of Inko once more.

"Before you answer me, I need you to know. I can only help you so much, if you tell me so little." Her stern yet soft tone piercing into her.

Aqua looks down, was it worth it? To tell her everything?

Should she?

Could she?

She looks up.

"I lost both of my best friends, and my master. In what was probably under a month. Both of my friends are still alive, but after I saved one of them I ended up...losing myself. I don't know where my home is, I've been lost for such a long time. I still have to get back, somehow but..." She trails off.

She bites her lip and tightens her grip on her charm, meeting Inko's eyes.

"Truly, I feel like I've taken up enough of your time. You've given me a place to stay, and a warrm meal to eat. You didn't have to help me, and you've shown me so much kindness, and...I don't want to intrude more than I have. I don't know how I'm going to get home, and I don't know how I'll find my friends but..." She goes quiet after a moment, unable to piece her words again.

The silence of the room makes her feel tense, she can feel the stare of the woman, concern and shock.

"So you don't have a home or anybody to stay with..." She reaches forward a bit and takes Aqua's hand, she smiles softly when she sees the young woman's eyes water a bit. Tears that are quickly blinked away. "I know, that that isn't the entire story but...I won't push. Not until your ready."

Aqua looks up.

"You're alone, and I can only imagine how desperate you may feel to find the people you care about. But you can only do so much without someone to help you, without a place to stay and recover." Her warm hands tighten around Aqua's. "You never intruded, you should never feel that way."

"Why are you...but you..."

The arguments die on Aqua's lips, unable to find any concrete foothold.

"How about you stay? As long as you want, as long as you need. Maybe..." she seemed hesitant with her words. "Maybe, become a part of this family."

Aqua feels a few warm tears roll down her face, opening and closing her mouth. Unsure how to respond.

"I..."

"Mama, where is Onee-chan going?" Izuku asks, rubbing his eyes as he walks over. He had heard the last part of the conversation. Now dressed in a different shirt and pairs of shorts. The color scheme consisting of red, blue, white, and yellow.

He yawns and groggily leans on the couch Aqua sits on, already half asleep.

The room is sielnt for a moment before Aqua hesitantly reaches out and puts her hand on his soft curls. Ruffling his hair a bit.

"...Onee-chan isn't going anywhere..." She murmurs, watching the sleepy child smile and stumble over to hug her. Earning a small chuckle from the two women.

 _Not for a while._

 _I'll find a way home...to Ven and Terra. But for now, maybe I can stay..._

 _Get stronger, find a way home_

She's unable stop reminding herself that this safe haven is temporary, and it won't last forever.

But there's another part of her that can't stop swelling with happiness and relief.

That part of her continually wondering

 _Could_ _I really, have a new home?_

 **-LotF-**

 **Hello everybody, hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

 **Sorry for taking a while on this chapter. I was having a hard time deciding how to end this chapter, and then for some reason FFN decided to delete half of the chapter when I was like halfway done with the chapter.**

 **ANyway that's enough of my blabbering,**

 **Have a nice day/night everybody!!**

 **P.S. I do not own KH or MHA**


	4. A Quirky World and Nice Strangers

**A Quirky World** **and Nice Strangers**

She wasn't sure what she would've woken up to, surely just another empty house like last time. Inko had a job, and Izuku probably went somewhere while she worked.

It was a pleasant surprise when she woke up to a small, wild haired child hugging her tightly in his sleep. He was so tired last night, she must have fallen asleep after her conversation with Inko last night. He must have been more tired than she thought, to just fall asleep on top of her.

She wanted to get up, maybe get something to eat. Her stomach was aching, begging for food. Yet at the same time she really _really_ didn't want to wake up Izuku. He looked so peaceful, and still kind of tired...wait . What time was it?

She looked to the clock, 7:23.

So pretty early in the morning.

Better question, where was Mrs. Inko?

She looked down at Izuku for a moment before looking around again, feeling slightly worried for the woman. Inko probably had a schedule she had to keep to right? Surely she wouldn't just leave randomly right? Especially her own child, with this stranger, that she seemed to somehow trust??

Aqua mentally slapped herself as a bit of anxiety started to rise, surely everything was fine right?

Then that one thought came, what if the dark creatures from the Realm of Darkness were also in this world? Then what?

She bit her lip as she slowly sat up, gathering the sleeping boy in her arms as he shifted a bit. Murmuring softly in his sleep and yawning a bit. She slowly stood up as Izuku shifted again, resting his head on her shoulder and gripping her shirt tightly.

She looked around again, making sure there was no note left on the coffee table, which there wasn't. Her stomach growled, reminding her there was a kitchen literally in the next room. She mentally cursed the hunger pangs, they were a sobering reminder that she actually had to take care of herself. She was no longer in a strange place where hunger and thirst somehow never manifested, and the only issue would be exhaustion.

She slowly wandered to the kitchen, the light was already on. It might have been used a while ago.

Her gaze fell on the fridge, seeing it covered in a child's drawings. There were quite a few pictures, over half of them were of a man of some kind. Blond hair with a big smile on his face, wearing a suit of red, white, yellow and blue with a cape slightly torn at the edges. There was another version of the picture where he didn't have a cape.

Who was he supposed to be? Obviously someone Izuku admired if he drew him so much. Maybe a father?

The other pictures consisted of what probably Izuku with people he knew, one of them was with who was probably his mother. Holding hands and eating ice cream. A few others were of him with some other blond child, probably the same one who was in one of the pictures on the wall. This one had writing on top of each person.

 _Kacchan_ _and_ _Me_

Kacchan? Strange name, unless it was a nickname.

One of the other pictures that caught her eye was a slightly wrinkled drawing, it looked pretty new. Two people with green hair, must be Izuku and Inko, staring up into the night sky as a bright blue star fell across the sky.

"Whoa..." She looks at it, it was pretty well drawn. It was obvious that Izuku must have put much care and time into it.

She couldn't help but smile to herself. He certainly had talent.

As she was about to start looking elsewhere for a note that might have been left behind, she heard a loud click and a an even louder clatter that startles her. Her grip tightens on Izuku and she feels herself tense, immediately summoning her Keyblade in her right hand. She grits her teeth, her wrist still in a bit of pain.

"Well at least these can't break." The familiar voice of Inko huffs, a bit of frustration in her voice.

At hearing her voice Aqua feels herself relax, desummoning her weapon. She looks down at Izuku as he shifts a bit, no longer asleep. He was slowly waking up, rubbing his eyes and shaking his head.

"Onee-chan?" He mumbles softly, slowly looking up to her.

"Morning Izuku." She manages to smile softly, the tension having not quite left her body yet.

"Aqua? Izuku? Are you two awake?" Inko called, walking into the kitchen and smiling when she sees them standing there.

"Mama!" Izuku squirmed until Aqua put him down, watching him run to her and hug her legs. He gave her one of his bright smiles, full of excitement and energy.

"I hope you two weren't awake for too long, I didn't want you to start worrying since I didn't leave a note." Inko smiles as she hugs Izuku back and places a few bags on the counter. "You two looked exhausted last night, and I didn't want to wake you up early. Mitsuki gave me a ride to pick up my car, it took a bit longer than I thought." She sighs, starting to put a few gorceries away.

"But Mama, what about daycare? Wasn't I supposed to go today?" Izuku asks, tilting his head in confusion. Looking even more confused with the small chuckle that came from his mother.

"Izuku honey, it's Saturday. You don't go today, because I don't have work today." She smiles.

Izuku beamed and looked at his older sister, excited to spend a day with his mother and sister.

"How about I make a quick breakfast and then you two can start getting ready?" Inko says as she pulls out a few pans.

"Yeah!" Izuku cheered, going over to her, wanting to help her make food.

Aqua wasn't sure what to do, still feeling a bit out of place. She watches the two start start to cook, prepping what looked like some kind of beans.

Should she really be here? She was just so out of place, like a sore thumb. Even though Inko said she could stay, said she could become a part of this family...

It felt hard, to actually to be able to accept that.

Her mind was conflicting with itself. Reminding her that she can't stay, but she should. She has no way home, then she has to find one. Her friends were looking for her, no they aren't. What if they can't? Then she'd go out to find them.

What about this world though? Was it possible that those dark creatures she saw in the Realm of Darkness were also here? How likely was that?

Then it was her job as a Keyblade Master to protect this world.

No, she wasn't a Keyblade Master, if anything she was far from one.

Then Izuku, the Midoriya's. She said she wasn't going anywhere...but how long could she keep that promise?

Her head began to spin, and she felt herself began to become frustrated. There were no answers, there wasn't anyone she could turn to for this. There was only she and herself. There wasn't much she could possibly begin to tell them if they asked. There were rules to be followed, and now...

She wanted bang her head against a wall, that might help take her mind off of all of the many thoughts spinning out of control. Although it would probably give her yet another headache.

"Aqua?"

Her head snaps up, seeing Inko look her way with concern. She made an attempt to hide her concern, but it was obvious.

"Y-Yes?"

Damn it, what was with her stuttering?

"How about you come over here, wanna learn how to make natto?" She asks, a soft smile on her face.

Aqua felt herself smile softly as she nods, walking over.

"Sure."

 **-LotF-**

One thing Aqua hadn't quite been prepared for was how much of a _Mom_ Inko was.

After they had gotten into the newly repaired car; after eating breakfast and getting ready to face the day. Inko had started to ask Aqua about her favorite food, her personal preferences on certain things like clothes and activities.

Even though she felt hesitant to answer, especially with the occasional uncomfortable bump in the road, she noticed that with each answer Inko seemed to catalogue it in her mind.

"So where are we going Mama?" Izuku asked from the back seat, bouncing up and down from excitement.

"We're going shopping, to get a few things for Aqua and get a few other things." Inko smiled, holding back a laugh from the look of utter shock and surprise the bluenette gave her.

"M-Me? But, you..you really don't have to-"

"You can't really keep wearing my old clothes dear." Inko hums, she takes a moment to look at her, giving her a soft smile. "And before you say anything, it's no trouble. Really, it isn't." Inko watches her, looking her dead in the eye. She sees it, the conflict of being a burden. There was a certain fear in her eyes, it was subtle, drowned out by what she could describe as worry and self loathing.

Inko pats her shoulder after a moment, returning her full focus back to the road. She turns on the radio after a moment, turning up the volume.

They sit in the car in a comfortable silence. Izuku stares out the window, watching as they grow closer and closer to the large shopping center that were always bustling with people and life.

Aqua couldn't help but stare out the window as well, finding whatever quickly passing scenery beautiful. Whether it be beautifully decorated walls with ornate designs and dancing figures, or tall buildings surrounded by other buildings. The sparkling glass reflecting the bright rays of sunshine off of them, reflecting the world surrounding them.

Inko kept an eye on her, as if it was Aqua's first time ever in a city like this. The way she seemed in awe over everything they passed. The tall skyscrapers, the clustered shops that were various collections of either small restaurants, gift shops, or other various places.

They didn't stop driving until they parked at a very large building in a lot full of other cars. It was Saturday, one would think that it shouldn't be as busy as it is. Especially considering it's still before noon. But early risers are early risers.

"Wow..." Aqua muttered as she stepped out of the car, looking around. There was so many people here, so many more than she had seen in the worlds she visited before. It felt more _lively_ , more _alive_. Like this world wasn't a fraction of what used to be the world before everything collpased and worlds were torn apart. It felt whole, complete.

Then again, there didn't seem to be the horrifying threat of the Unversed roaming the streets and attacking anybody as soon as they came into sight. This place seemed much, much safer.

She looked around at the people walking around in the parking lot, so many different people. She couldn't help but keep her gaze on those who had a very, _very_ strong resemblance to animals. Even plants.

"Come on Onee-chan! Let's go!" Izuku smiled as he grabbed her hand, tugging on her hand as he walked over to Inko who was waiting for them.

"Come here Izuku, make sure you hold my hand alright?" She asks as Izuku quickly takes her hand, following her as they walk through the lot.

Aqua kept looking around, hearing the honking of cars and the humming of engines. They would stop every once in a while as a car would pull out of it's space and drive off. She would flinch whenever it looked like one car was going to collide with another. Some people were reckless or in such a hurry.

"So Aqua, this your first time in a city?" Inko asks, watching as she looked around at the buildings in the distance that reached for the sky, and the small shops across the street selling either food, clothes, or other services.

"Huh?" She looks to the woman as they walk into the building, a wave of fresh, cool air hitting her face.

"Is it your first time in a city like this?" Inko asks again as she looks around the store they entered.

Aqua gave a small laugh and rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah it kinda is...I've only been to small markets."

 _And by small markets I mean Moogles._

"Oh?"

"Yeah, they didn't really sell much other than a few acessories and a few books." She adds as she follows the woman through an aisle of clothes decorated with figures of people fighting. She noticed how Izuku awed over them and muttered to himself as they passed a few of the shirts.

"Woah! A new Crimson Riot shirt!" He gasped. "All Might!"

Aqua raised an eyebrow and looked to the shirts the boy was looking at, seeing figures in various action poses. One of the fgures looked familiar, flexing and saying 'I am here!'

"Easy Izuku, maybe we can get you a new shirt after we finish getting Aqua's clothes." Inko laughs as they walk to another part of the clothing store with more plain and differently designed clothes. A bit more casual and not as bright and flashy.

Aqua looked down at the child as he sighed an 'okay'. Yet still held that excited energy.

"So, Izuku. Who's All Might?" Aqua asks, feeling like she'd be playing with fire with asking the question.

He gasped and turned towards her, eyes wide with shock. Even Inko looked surprised.

"All Might is the coolest! He's the number one hero that saves everybody with a smile!" He says, bouncing up and down. "He's always there when it looks like hope is lost! And he saves the day!"

Aqua couldn't help but smile at the child, his energy contaigious. So it was someone who he admired, was that who was on the fridge?

"I'm gonna be just like All Might when I get my quirk! I'm gonna save everybody with a smile on my face! Oh! I know, when we go home I can show you my favorite video!" He was bouncing around as they stopped in front a rack of clothes.

"That sounds like a plan Izuku." She chuckles, ruffling his hair a bit.

"These look good for a starting point." Inko says as she gathers three shirts and a few pairs of shorts. "I'm not sure what your size may be, and they can differ depending on the brand; but I think these are good for starters. Then we can find a few other outfits that go with your preferences." Inko smiles, handing Aqua the clothes. "The changing rooms are over there." She points to one end of the store, leading the two over.

The changing rooms were all full, the area full of teenagers excited to see their friend's new outfits or parents waiting to see their kids in new clothes.

Aqua looks around at a few of the people, seeing a few of them sporting strange qualities. One of them had pink skin, and was trying to get their daughter, who lacked the pink skin, to try on a shirt. There was another group of people, one of them with a cactus for a head, and another person who had more cat like features.

She spotted another group that was pushing their supposed friend into a changing room and throwing clothes at him. He ended up falling into the room and the door was pulled shut by two of the friends while another person was scolding them.

She hummed to herself as she heard loud yelling from the room where the poor soul was trapped inside. A few people began to back away while others just ignored the enraged yelling and howling laughter.

A moment later another room opened up right next to the group of friends that were yelling. A man walking out quickly, looking very, _very_ concerned.

Even Inko looked concerned before looking at Aqua. "Are you alright with using that stall?" She asks.

Aqua nods. "Yeah, don't worry. I'll be right out anyway." She reassures her, walking over to the stall and shutting it. She knew Inko would probably wait by the door.

"Hizashi, Kayama I am going to kill you!" The person in the next stall yelled, as she set out the clothes on the table in the small room. A dark blue, plain shirt with no design. A teal tank top with a small, yellow curlicue near the bottom; and another on the back. The third shirt was a black mid sleeve with a white crescent moon on the chest. The phrase 'To the moon and back' was under the design.

One of the two shorts was a pair of denim capris, and the other was a longer pair of shorts that went down to her lower calf.

"Just try on the outfit Shouta and we'll let you out!" A young man yelled, probably 'Hizashi' if she had to guess.

"When I get out of here, you better hope you can get away from me you screeching cockatoo!"

"So mean, if you try it on I'll take you to that cat cafe down the street." He said in a sing song voice.

"Honestly, I can't believe you two talked me into helping you with this." Another voice muttered, exasperated. She had to hold back a laugh, so there was a voice of reason within their crazy group.

She quickly put on the plain blue shirt and the denim capris, taking a moment to look at herself in the mirror.

She had been wearing her 'normal' attire for so long, it just became something that she felt she was supposed to wear. Something that truly belonged, she liked these clothes sure, but she felt so strange in the new attire. If she had to be honest, she kind of missed her other clothes...too bad they were pretty messed up. Probably beyond repair.

She sighs after a moment, about to walk out as she heard the click of the stall next to her open as she stepped out. She saw Inko waiting for her, Izuku was leaning against the wall and smiled as she came out.

"Oh, that looks so nice on you. How does it feel?" Inko asks as the group next to them breaks out into howling laughter.

"Oh my god..."

"The top is a bit big but the shorts fit pretty good." Aqua says as a loud slamming noise is heard.

"Okay, how about I find you a size smaller and you try on the other shirts while I grab the other one okay?" She asks, getting a nod. She takes Izuku's hand and walks away.

"I refuse to be in same room with you two heathens, you forgot to add the oversized, edgy cat jacket." One of the three laughed as he pinched the bridge of his nose and started to walk away.

"Don't encourage them Iida!" The victim inside the stall yelled.

Iida brickly walked away, he was so focused on getting away from the other two in mock shame, that he accidentally bumped into the other bluenette and nearly fell over.

"O-Oh! I am so sorry!" He apologizes as he catches her, grabbing her shoulders and bringing her upright before she could fall to the ground. He was barely able to catch himself, and keep himself from falling over. "Are you alright?"

She breathes a sigh of relief as she gets back up. Surprised at how quickly he was able to react.

"Yes, I'm okay. Don't worry." She says as she looks up to him.

Short, dark blue hair that perfectly matched his eyes. A patient, slightly worried expression on his face. He was a bit taller than her, almost as tall as Terra.

"Are you sure?"

She nods, and turns to go back into the changing room. Still having plenty to try on.

While she changed her shirt she heard an 'ooooooh' from outside.

"Who was that Tensei? Your girlfriend?" Hizashi joked, laughing, then screaming a moment later after a small clacking noise. "No! Not the hanger, not the hanger! Ah!"

There was a door that slammed open.

"Hizashi..." Shouta muttered in a low voice.

"Start running cockatoo." A girl, probably Kayama, laughed, being answered with the pounding steps of someone running away while either screaming or laughing. Possibly a cross between both.

Aqua felt her face grow warm for some reason, ignoring it after a moment and pulling the tank top over her head. It fit perfectly, not too tight and not too loose. She could probably use a small jacket to go with it.

She looked over herself for a moment before changing her shirt again to the black shirt. The sleeves were a bit longer than the first shirt and it was a bit longer. Certainly very comfortable.

She heard a knock on the door as she adjusted the sleeves a bit.

"Aqua are you okay? I brought a different size." Inko says.

"I got you a shirt too!" Izuku cheered outside, smiling up at her when she stepped out. He held up a white shirt with the word 'dress' on the front. It made her laugh a bit.

 **-SotP-**

"I think his quirk is super strength! How else can he jump so high, and make big gusts of wind when he punches villains!" Izuku says as he hops around, holding Aqua's hand.

"Well maybe you're right." Aqua says, slowly putting the pieces about this world together.

'Quirks', something that Inko had asked her about earlier were powers. People in this world naturally had powers that varies from person to person. From what she could guess, people who looked like cats, or had the head of a cactus just had those kind of 'quirks'. From how excitedly Izuku was talking about getting his, and 'Kacchan' getting his own 'quirk' it must come at a certain age. Adults seem to have their quirks already, so maybe it appears around when they're children?

She wanted to ask a bit more about quirks and types, but she didn't really want to come off as suspicious or ignorant. Or like she had come from a different world.

"Onee-chan! I never asked, what's your quirk?" Izuku looks up to his sister, smiling brightly.

"My quirk?" She repeated, she thought it over for a moment. Trying to come up with something, as fine as it may seem to have a Keyblade in this world; there was still that universal rule that forbade any wielder from talking about other worlds, let slone their own power.

What would happen if she were to break this rule? What if she only told Izuku...but is it really a good idea?

She'll think on it a bit later, maybe she can show him a little something now.

"Well..." She kneels down to his eye level, seeing him look excited. "My...quirk, can do a lot of things. Like this."

She held out her hands, concentrating on the small crystals of ice that appear on her palms and slowly spread over her hands up to her wrists. She then shifts her magic into a gentle warmth that slowly melts the ice. She bites her lip as she keeps the magic under control. It's been a while since she's used bare handed casting. She hasn't done that since she was a child, before she was able to manifest her Keyblade. It was much easier to control then, then again she was younger and didn't have as much magic energy in her.

The Keyblade was something like an amplifier, that's how Master Eraqus had explained it. As long as she was able to manifest whatever magic she wanted in her hands, she'd be able to cast it with her Keylade. Except the output would be much stronger, not to mention it was easier to control with the weapon. Now that she was older, and had a greater amount of magic energy; it was a bit harder to control. Like it was tugging harshly on it's leash.

She looked to Izuku to see him in awe, gasping when she snuffed the fire out. She looked back to her plams and grit her teeth as she slowly made sparks of lightning appear, having them dance around her hands. After a moment she put a cap on her power once more and made the sparks vanish from sight, yet they still leave a small tingling feeling running up her arms.

"Woah...Onee-chan that's so cool!" Izuku cheers, taking her hand. He looks at it, tilting his head a bit. "Do you make the fire and ice with the temperature of your body? How do you make the lightning? How cold does the ice get? The fire? Can you shoot them from your hands?" He fires one question after another.

"Easy Izuku, I can only answer so fast." She laughs, slowly standing back up to her full height.

"Oh...sorry." He apologizes, looking down for a moment before looking back up to her.

"Well, I can do a little more than that. Maybe I can show you a bit more once we get home." She says, ruffling his messy hair.

He beams. "Really?" Giggling in excitement when she nods.

It wasn't until a moment later she realized what she said.

Home...

Was she already considering this place her home? She couldn't... _shouldn't_.

She wouldn't be here forever...would she? Even if she was, it wasn't a bad thought. She'd have a family, and place to call home. A warm bed to return to when night came. Someone would always be waiting for her...

 _But someone already IS waiting for you. Ven needs you, Terra needs you._

 _Do they? What if they're not even looking for me?_

Before she could get too lost in her own thoughts, she heard Inko call the two. She looks up, seeing her walk towards them, quickly pocketing her cell phone.

"I'm sorry, I had to take that call." Inko apologized, looking to the two. "So, what did I miss while I was gone? Izuku looked pretty excited about something." She smiles at her little boy.

"Mama! Onee-chan has such a cool quirk! She can use fire, and ice! And lightning too!" Izuku says, hugging his mother.

"Oh really? That's amazing." She smiles. "I thought your quirk was something of the healing sort?" She looks at Aqua in confusion.

"O-Oh! I just...my quirk has a lot of different abilities to it, so yeah..." She hums, rubbing the back of her head.

"Oh." Inko says simply, thinking it over for a moment. "Do you have something like an energy conversion quirk?" She asks, curious.

 _I guess you can call it that_

"Yeah, something like that." She nods.

"I see, that's pretty interesting. So, who's up for some lunch?" She asks the two, getting a 'yeah!' and a 'sure'.

Aqua picks up the shopping bags, and quicly follows after the two. Looking around as they walk through the mall. Looking around at all the different stores around. There's one with a buch of small items on display. Some people test them out, pressing buttons and swiping across on the screen that lights up. Another store has more clothes, although has a more punk and grunge style to it. There was some music blasting out of the speakers in there. She only caught a few of the lyrics. Something about someone dreaming about him dancing on a tightrope of weird.

She couldn't lie, it was pretty catchy. She found herself humming along until they had gotten too far to heal. She spotted a few other stores, more of them were foodbased and had a few more people crowding around. There was once shop with a bunch of sweets on display, a few of them were small and round, looking like a tiny, colorful sandwich with some kind of cream filling. Another one was a small restaurant, it looked a sandwich shop or something like that.

"There's a new restaurant up ahead that actaully specializes in American cuisine. It sounds really interesting, and the reviews are pretty good." Inko says, snapping her out of her thoughts. "I've been meaning to try it for a while." She smiles.

American cuisine? Sounds strange, but couldn't hurt to try.

As she puts in her opinion if interst about the restaurant she hears a few familiar voices.

"Keep it up Hizashi or I'll put a centipede in your bed." A tired voice threatens.

"Shouta!"

"Stop screaming..." He mutters.

"You two are always so lively, you know that?"

Oh, it was the group from the changing rooms. She turned her head slightly to get a small look at them. There were three...weren't there four before? Or maybe he left them?

She shrugs off the thought before colliding into someone for the second time today.

"Oof!" She almost fell backwards, but felt someone grab her waist mid-fall. She had let one of the bags of clothes fall and grabbed their shoulder and planted her feet, gaining some kind of balance. She looked up to see it was the man from before, from the changing rooms. He was awfully close.

She feels her face flush a bit before letting out a nervous chuckle.

"You know we should stop meeting like this."

She sees him flush for a moment before coughing and looking to the side. "I-Indeed..."

"Aqua, are you alright?" Inko comes over quickly and asks, as she slowly brings herself upright with the help of the stranger.

"I'm fine, I just wasn't looking where I was going." She smiles, brushing off the need for concern.

"Once again, I am so sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going, being in such a rush. I should have been paying more attention." He apologizes, bowing for a moment.

"N-No really it's fine. We all make mistakes." She reassures, watching him stand up straight again. It feels a bit awkward, like both of them are a bit nervous to break the slightly uncomfortable silence.

"So, uh. Goodbye?" She tries, mentally kicking herself for such a stupid response, slowly shuffling around him until she was beside her little brother. Making sure to grab the dropped bag first.

"Uh...yeah." He nods, slowly going over to his small group of friends. The blonde one with his hair up mutters something to him and he shoots a heated glare his way with a red face.

The Midoriyas slowly walk away, the blue-nette scratching at her cheek.

"Well...he seems nice." Inko says after a moment, making the young woman go red.

"W-What's that supposed to mean?" She asks.

"Nothing." Inko laughs.

"Onee-chan, I didn't know you could change colors!"

Aqua wanted bury herself under the sand of the beach she arrived on.

"Well, after we eat we can go home. I have a few things to do at the house anyway." Inko reassures the young woman.

"Aww, do you have to do home work?" Izuku pouts.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but yes." She ruffles his hair a bit with a soft smile.

Izuku nods a bit with a small sigh.

Aqua looks at him for a moment before smiling.

"Hey Izuku, remember you're supposed to show me that video of All Might? The one that's your favorite?" She asks. Watching him look up after a moment and smile.

"Oh yeah!" He says, his mood shifting quickly.

"Inko!"

They all look up when a different voice calls after the adult. A blonde woman with spiky hair and red eyes, wearing a soft lavender skirt and cardigan with a white shirt, approaches them. A small boy who looks almost exactly like her is in tow. Wearing a black shirt with crossbones on it, and a pair of brown shorts. He had a bored look on his face that quickly changed when he saw Izuku.

"Kacchan!" Izuku says as the blondes approach them.

"Oh, hello Mitsuki!" Inko greets. "Didn't I _just_ see you?" She asks.

"You know what I think you did." The woman laughs. "So, what are you up to?" She asks, letting go of her son's hand after a moment.

"Hi Kacchan!" Izuku smiles, letting go of his mother's hand to walk to his friend.

"Hi Deku." 'Kacchan' huffs, crossing his arms.

 _Deku?_

"Kacchan! This is Onee-chan!" Izuku says, showing his friend Aqua, who waves.

The boy raises his eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Hey, come on brat. We're going to eat lunch." Mistuki says, grabbing the back of his shirt.

"Hey! I can walk on my own old hag!" He yells, getting a small swipe on the back of his head.

Okay...intersting dynamic they have there...

"Izuku, Aqua, come on." Inko says, taking the child's hand after a moment.

"Are we still gonna eat mama?" Izuku asks.

"Of course, and we're having lunch with the Bakugo's too. You can spend a bit more time with Katsuki." Inko smiles, seeing her son look excited.

Katsuki, so Kacchan _is_ just a nickname.

"So where's Uncle Masaru?" Izuku asks, looking up to Inko.

"He had to go to work. They needed him for a new project they're setting up." Inko answers.

"So, you know them?" Aqua asks, looking to Inko as they make their way towards the restaurant.

Inko and Izuku nod.

"Kacchan's my best friend!" Izuku says happily.

Inko nods. "I've known Mitsuki ever since we were kids." Inko says, looking ahead to see Mitsuki standing in front of the restaurant. She was kneeling down in fornt of Katsuki, probably telling him to behave.

"Mama, are we all gonna sit at the same table, or are you and Aunt Mitsuki gonna sit at another table and talk about grown up things?" Izuku asks, looking up to Inko.

"We're probably going to sit at different tables today honey, and you know what you can introduce Katsuki to Aqua."

Izuku nods with so much enthusiasm and excitement it's honestly a wonder how the boy doesn't give himself whiplash.

"He looked pretty surprised when he saw her..." He wonders aloud, quickly snapping out of his thinking daze when he hears someone call his name.

"Oi Deku! Over here!" Katsuki yells, standing up on the seat of the booth he's at; before being told to sit down by his mother who stands by waiting for them.

"Onee-chan you're gonna sit with us right?" Izuku asks, tugging on the leg of Aqua's shorts.

"Well, if it's alright with Inko and Mrs. Mistuki." Aqua says.

She knows Inko has faith in her, putting a lot of trust into her and showing her a lot of care. Although on Mitsuki's side, she could feel the suspicious looks and the scanning of her figure. As if she was trying to decide the newcomer was a threat, yet puting a small bit of trust in her. Seeing as Inko, someone she's known for a long time, seems to wholeheartedly trust in Aqua. Although she would be sitting with Mitsuki's child, which was probably a whole different matter of consideration.

"Yeah of course it's okay, someone has to watch the brat anyway." Mitsuki says, a grin on her face.

"Hey!"

So she _was_ willing to trust her enough to have what was only her only child around her.

"Our booth is right across from yours if any of you need anything." Inko smiles, walking away after a moment. As soon as they walk away Izuku tugs on Aqua's hand and sits next to her in the booth.

Almost immediately Katsuki and Izuku start talking, something about what they saw on TV. Something about heroes, and villains.

While they were chattering amonst themselves Aqua took in the look the restaurant. The scattered paintings of scenic veiws and what she would rather describe as abstract art. The sound of soft jazz music was played, creating a more calm atmosphere among the chatterings of many people. She saw a lot of people walking around, either with trays of food and drink, or with notepads and pens. She looked across the way to see Inko and Mitsuki in their own booth, talking about who knows what.

"Right Onee-chan?"

She blinked, her head snapping up in attention. "Hm?" She looked to Izuku. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said."

Izuku continued without missing beat. "Just because you're not related to me, doesn't mean you're not my sister!" He exclaims. She looked up to see Katsuki a bit red in the face, clearly upset by Izuku's refusal to agree with what he said.

"Well...I'm like a big sister to you right?" Aqua asks, getting a nod from Izuku. "So, even though you just met me you already consider me a sister. You consider me family, I would say that's enough to be a sister. Even if we're not from the same family."

"Well in that case I may as well call _you_ big sis!" Katsuki snapped.

"But she's my big sister!" Izuku pouted, hugging her arm.

She felt her mouth draw into a thin line. Oh boy.

 **-LotF-**

"So, what's the story with her?" Mitsuki asks as she glances over to the other table, seeing the young woman looking around and generally stuck in her own head at the moment. While Katsuki and Izuku were talking about something.

Inko smiles as she glances over the three.

"Well, first off her name is Aqua. Izuku and I found her while we were walking home, the day my car broke down." Inko tells her. Getting a small frown and a raised eyebrow from her friend. "Oh don't give me that look Mitsuki, she needed help."

"You just picked her up off the streets Inko, what do you know about her? She's around Izuku and you all the time, what if she hurts you?" Mitsuki asks, stopping the conversation for a moment to ask for a water from the waiter who came to ask for thier drinks.

She waited for the waiter to walk before looking back to Inko. "Seriously Inko, I know you. You're smarter than this, you just met this woman and from what I heard Izuku say just a little bit earlier it sounds like you're taking her into your family."

"Easy Mitsuki, you just met her. You haven't even gotten to know her."

"And you met her like what, yesterday? Two days ago?" Mitsuki asks.

"Actually, yes." Inko says, thanking the waiter as she receives her tea. She takes a small sip as Mitsuki gives her a skeptical look.

She sighs and places down the cup.

"Mitsuki, she was injured when we found her. She was exhausted and weak, I'm pretty sure she slept the day away on Friday recovering." Inko says, looking her friend in the eye. "When we were having dinner that night she started crying. She said it was because of happy but...I think that may have been her first moment of peace in a long time." Inko looks up to her friend, seeing her frown.

"You just found her on the streets? Didn't you ask her if she had anyone she could call?"

"She said she lost both her friends, even though they're still alive. I can only begin to imagine what that might mean. Then she said she lost her master, said nothing more of that. She's lost Mitsuki, she doesn't have anyone to turn to. I couldn't just let a poor soul like her be left to wander around aimlessly and hopelessly. She wants to go home...but she doesn't even know where to start." She looks down for a moment, taking the time to wipe away a few tears she shed for the girl. "I don't think she really _has_ a home anymore...or at least she didn't..."

Mitsuki looked to her friend, then subtly glancing over to the table where the girl is patting Izuku on the head and telling her Katsuki about something. Laughing at his reaction. She sighs and leans back in her seat, rubbing her eyes before looking at her friend.

"You always were the mother hen of our group." Mitsuki chuckles after a moment.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Inko says, crossing her arms.

"You would mother everybody back then, and you still mother people to this day."

"Well I _am_ a mother aren't I?"

"You would mother people who weren't even related to you!"

"I care about the people around me, is that a crime?" She furrows her brow, pretending to be upset.

Mitsuki only laughs at her attempt to look irritated. Sighing after a moment to take another look at her friend.

"I'm not too sure about your decision Inko, really. I can't help but feel kinda suspicious of her...but I'll supoort your decision... _for now_. If she does anything to hurt you or Izuku you can bet I'm going to find her and kick her ass." She huffs.

The other woman sighs. "I guess I can take that answer, but you'll see she's not a bad person; really."

Mitsuki rolls her eyes, looking over to the other table. Seeing the blue-nette laughing, while both Katsuki and Izuku looked confused at something.

"So, speaking of asses I'll kick if either of you two get hurt..." She looks to Inko.

Inko felt her expression darken, she makes herself focus on her drink. Not too keen on talking about _him_.

"I...got a call earlier today." She sighs. Tapping her half empty glass. "Hisashi is..." She groans and holds her head. "I know we moved out of the old neighborhood...but what if he finds us?" Inko bit her lip.

"Inko..."

"Mitsuki, Izuku is going to be four soon. You know Hisashi will want to..."

"He won't find you Inko, you're going to be okay. Listen if you want, you can stay at my place for a while if you don't feel safe in your own."

"Oh, oh Mitsuki you don't have-"

"I'm serious Inko. My home was always, and will always be open to you. Especially if you think you're in danger besides, I'm pretty sure that Katsuki would like to have Izuku over all the time." She says, trying to somewhat lightening the mood.

Inko rubs her eyes, smiling after a moment. "Thank you Mitsuki...really." She nods.

The blonde nods, her brow furrowing after a moment.

"Okay we've been waiting for fucking ever, where the hell is the waiter?"

"Mitsuki..."

 **-SotP-**

 **HAHA! TIS I, THE FRENCHIEST OF ALL FRIES!**

 **I have been gone for a long time, and I apol** **ogize for that. I've actaully been pretty busy this summer. I've been catching up with family and friends, and recently I've been getting some stuff ready so my senior year doesn't screw me over. It probably doesn't help that my sleep schdeule if all messed up. But I am genuinely going to try to update more frequently, now that things are kind of slowing down.**

 **Have a nice day/night everybody.**

 **P.S- For those of you who follow Heroes of the Nightmare, I'm going to update that soon. Hopefully tomorrow or the day after.**

 **P.P.S- I do not own Kingdom Hearts or My Hero Academia.**


	5. Chapter 5: Confrontation and Truth

**Confrontation** **and Truth**

It kept her up at night, images of fire and burnt skin. SInged hair and bloodied streets. Hot, salty tears and agonizing wails.

It left her unable to sleep, left to her room that seemed to feel more and more cramped as time went on. Her footsteps as quiet as they could be, the room only filled with the sound of her muffled sniffles and the deafening heartbeat in her chest. She would check on Izuku every other five minutes. Her paranoia screaming at her that he was around every corner, hiding in every shadow. That her knew where they were.

Night after night she would pace around her room until she finally tired herself out. Usually waking up in exhaustion, something easily curable by a good cup of coffee. Sadly it never distracted her from that ever present fear.

Her heart hammered every moment she was awake, whether in what should be the safety of her home; or the terrifying outside world. All she wanted to do was keep her little boy safe, but she couldn't keep him safe forever.

At least for now, she could.

Or so she had thought.

How he had found out where they lived to quickly, she didn't know. She didn't who on earth he could know who could tell him that information. When he arrived on her doorstep, with that smug expression on. As if he hadn't made her life a living hell for three years then walked out on them, then thinking he had the right to see her son. _Her_ son.

She was caught between a mixture of anger and terror, wanting to slam the door in his face and pretend he never came by; or to hurl a vase at him.

It was one of the days where Katsuki would stay over at the Midoriya's, a sleepover. They had all finished dinner, after Aqua helped her clean up the kitchen the blue-nette was dragged away by the two boys. She could hear them from the kitchen, the boys would play the heroes, and Aqua would alternate between villain and civilian.

With the sparks that Katsuki was now able to wield, and the constant energy of Izuku; they would defeat the ice monster that threatened to take over the city!

She would listen from the kitchen as she would make her usual cup of tea, hearing various yells and long winded monologues. Reminding herself that she needed to restock on her favorite tea, she only had enough for about two cups left. As she would wait for the water to boil she would watch them. Aqua would make a thin layer of ice on her hands, and 'fight' the heroes. Chasing them around, and when it looked like all hope was lost for the heroes they would push through and finish the fight with a bang. Literally.

There were a few incidents where Katsuki accidentally set off his quirk and almost burned her or Izuku. There were a few new singe marks on her carpet though, nothing that would really bother her.

It made her happy that Aqua was a bit more comfortable with them now, not as awkward and quiet; although she seemed to be exhausted as of late. Even Mitsuki and Katsuki warmed up to her, Mitsuki wasn't as suspicious and mildly aggravated towards her. Katsuki on the other hand, seemed to really like her as a big sister, even if she wasn't a part of his family. He had taken to calling her 'Sis' surprising both his mother and Aqua.

Izuku was a bit surprised and felt mildly offended, wanting to keep his sister for himself. It caused a small argument, most of the shouting coming from Katsuki and the tears from Izuku; over whether or not Katsuki could call her 'Sis'.

It ended up being settled over a small snack and Aqua saying it was okay. After the small late night snack they had gone to watch TV, the day ending with them finally falling to sleep over some All Might cartoon.

She heard the loud knock, it had startled her at first' but she had been able to convince herself that it ws nothing. Maybe it would have been Mitsuki dropping by to drop off something Katsuki forgot. Oh how she wished it was that, rather than...

"Hey there Inko." He smirked, leaning against the doorframe.

She froze, her eyes taking in the sight of him. He had changed so much over the course of four years. His hair was a bit longer, and his skin more pale, a bit of gray in the dark hair. His eyes sunken and dark. The one thing that had really stayed the same were the freckles, the same ones Izuku had gotten from him. Albeit Hisashi's were more scattered and messy.

"Long time no see." He continues, standing up straight. He towered over her.

"Not long enough if you ask me." Inko hissed, having found some kind of courage from somewhere.

Her lips had drawn into a thin line as he scowled.

"Mouthy as ever I see. So...where's the kid?" He asked, peering over her shoulder to try and look inside.

" _My_ son is doing fine Hisashi, and he would do even better if you would stay out of his life!" She tried to keep her voice low, the kids were asleep.

"How would you know that? Maybe the kid would enjoy spending time with his old man."

"His name is Izuku! Of course you wouldn't know that, you walked out on us before he was born; and _now_ you want back into his life?"

"Well, I _am_ his father." He smirked.

"No...no you gave up that right after you _left_ us." She growls, gripping the door tightly.

They stared each other down, a tense silence hung between them. It felt like an eternity until she took a deep breath, breaking eye contact for a moment to shake her head.

"Good night Hisashi." She muttered, closing the door. Or at least she tried to, a hand gripping tightly to the edge of the wooden door. A weight on it.

"No, I don't think we're done here." He growled, small embers licking the edges of his lips as smoke as poured from his mouth.

"Yes, we are Hisashi." She insisted, trying to close the door. Only to fall back and yell in surprise, she tried to get up to try to shove him out. She failed, only to be grabbed by the arm; thick smoke in her face.

"So where is-"

"Inko?" The two looked up and saw a concerned Aqua standing in from of the hall that led to the rooms.

Inko looked to the couch in panic, feeling a bit of relief when she saw the boys weren't on the couch. Aqua must have taken them to another room.

She managed to wtihhold a sigh of relief, her eyes darted back to Hisashi to watch him. Afraid to what he would do.

"And who the hell are you?" He growled, embers flickering at his lips.

Aqua looked to Inko and saw her fearful expression, and noticed that she gave a light tug every once in a while. Probably kept them apart to try to avoid irritating the intruder.

"I think a better question is, who are _you_?" She asked, stepping forward. Stopping only when she was face to face with him. She had a shorter build than him, and lacked the mucle he had. Inko's eyes darted between the two of them, scared for Aqua. She's brave for standing up to this man, that's a feat in itself. Inko had barely been able to gather her courage last minute when he appeared on her doorstep.

"Aqua..." She muttered softly.

"You hired some kind of body guard to keep you safe? That's pathetic Inko and you know it, but it fits you. You've always been pathetic!" He threw her to the floor and gave her a swift kick to the gut.

"Inko!" Aqua went to help her up, only for one hand to grab her hair and the other to grab her arm. She was dragged back to her feet before she could help Inko, the man tugged on her hair to force her to look at him.

"You're going to take me to my son, and you're going to let me walk out with him. If either of you call the cops, Izuku might find me in a bad mood."

"You sick bastard!" Inko yells, trying to get to her feet, before she was kicked down again.

Aqua grabbed the hand that gripped her hair.

"No, what's going to happen, it that you're going to leave. You're going to leave this family alone and you're not going to come back." She tells him, an icy tone.

"Why would I do that? Why the hell should I listen to you, it ain't any of your business!" He spat at her.

She shot him a glare, feeling a stinging cold coat her hand as freezing ice began to spread across his arm. It was up to his elbow in under a minute.

"If you don't leave, I'll have to make you leave." She told him, watching as bright embers began to lick at his lips. She met his dark eyes, a challenge. If she had to guess it looked like he could breathe fire, even so all she really had to do was scare him off. Or keep his attention and give Inko enough time to get help.

"I'd like to see you try!" He shouted, before slamming her face into a wall. She withheld a yell of pain as he slammed her into the wall again and again before he forced her to look at him again. Inko had been yelling at him to stop, unheard by both.

"Still feeling ballsy there?" He growled at her, his hands wrapped around her neck. He squeezed tightly, making her cough and struggle trying to break free. As she was about to respond, angry spikes of ice were forming on the wall, they all heard the voices of two children.

"O-Onee-chan?"

"Sis?"

The three looked towards the two children peering around the corner of the hall. Both horrified at what they saw. A bloody and struggling Aqua, a hurt and limping Inko, and some strange enraged man.

"Oh." Hisashi had said, as if everything that was happening was all just a casual occurence. "Hey there Izuku." He put on a fake smile, and a saccharine voice. "You probably don't recognize me, seeing as you've never seen me before, but I'm your dad." He gave a smile, unsettling to all in the room.

Izuku with warm tears starting to sting his eyes looks to his sister and to Inko.

"No...no you're not. I-I don't have a dad..."

Katsuki was just as scared as the little greenette beside him, and tried not to let it show. A failed attempt as he stepped forward a bit , hands shaking in the slightest. Surely he could take this guy on right? Afterall, he was able to beat up two fourth graders!

"Why are you hurting sis?!" He yelled, putting his hands up, tiny fireworks crackled at his palms.

"Oh, now isn't that cute." Hisashi sneered, before he looked back at Izuku. "I just came to pick you up kiddo. I had hoped we would have met on better terms, but your mom and...sister have lost it. They both just attacked me on sight."

"Liar!" Katsuki yelled. "Auntie Inko wouldn't hurt anybody! Not even me!"

"Mama?" Izuku looked to his mother, who was trying to motion for him to go back to his room. He didn't need to see any of this.

"Izuku, Katsuki." Aqua muttered, loud enough for the two to hear. Getting their attention. While Hisashi had been focused on Izuku for the moment, his hands loosened around her neck. They looked to her.

"Go to Izuku's room, Inko or I will come get you once everything has calmed down." She told them, a small smile on her face.

Before Katsuki could argue on that, he was dragged away by Izuku. After a bit of yelling and the slam of a door, Aqua looked back to Hisashi.

"You have one more chance to leave, before I make you." Aqua tells him, bracing herself. She figured what his answer would probably be.

"As if you could make me." He sneered.

She felt her mouth twist into a scowl, before looking to Inko. She looked her in the eye, and the look alone told her everything alone. Inko only nodded at her, her gaze darting between her and Hisashi for a moment before she ran out of the room. As Hisashi was about to yell at Inko his attention was grabbed by a shout from Aqua.

"I think you should be paying attention!" She yelled, making an attempt to put a leash on the overwhelming amount of magic energy she was outputting. A futile attempt as she felt a another spike of anger go through her as his eyes darted towards her again. His dark eyes glinted with the flames that began to lick his lips.

Before he could spew fire at her, and before she could force a leash on her power; bright sparks of lightning went flying from her hands, rushing through the man's body and causing him to scream in pain. He loosened his grip on her slightly, which she took advantage of and wrenched herself out of his grip. She was free, but as soon as the lightning died down he was able to recover soon enough to let loose a torrent of fire from his mouth.

The carpet was badly burnt where she was a minute ago, leaving him confused for a moment. He looked for her, the dark smoke from his flames slightly obscuring his vision. He caught her in his sights for a moment, unprepared for the wave of ice that crashed into him and slammed him into the wall. He was even more surprised when he saw her swing something at him.

It hurt, _a lot_.

He saw stars for a moment before he felt denser, thicker ice wrap around him.

He glared down at the ice and opened his mouth to spew another round of fire until he found some kind of sword pointed at him. It looked like a giant key of some sorts, what exactly the hell was that supposed ot be? It looked ridiculous!

He glared at her, eye to eye. He saw her bruised face, bloody nose, and exhausted expression.

"Are you going to leave Hisashi?" She asked, a icy edge to her tone.

He grinned at her, not missing the small startled look on her face before he inhaled deeply and began the torrent of flames once again. He aimed them first at her, barely missing her. He did however hear a cry of pain and get the smell of burnt flesh, good. He had gotten her. He quickly put his aim towards the ice, melting it quickly.

A moment later he had melted it enough to break through it using brute force. He was about to look for her again to grab her and put the bitch in her place when he saw the young woman facing him again. The blade in his face, and her left side and arm suffering a few burns.

"You really think you-

"Hisashi!" A woman screamed. The two couldn't help but turn their attention to the trembling Inko. She had her teeth grit, her phone in a tight grip. Her finger hovered over the call button, a threat she's ready to follow through on.

"Even if you call them, I highly doubt they'd get here fast enough to-" He stopped as he felt a cold blade graze his neck. A harsh chill running up his spine as a layer of ice begins to spread across his neck.

He returned the glare he received, glaring into the blue eyes of the woman.

The fire breather looked between the two women, the threat of cops one one side, and either death or serious injury on the other. There was of course the third option...

After a moment of silence he lets out a light hearted laugh, surprising the two for a moment before he gave a small shrug. "I'll leave, I'll leave." He sighs, slowly backing away from Aqua as he made his way to the front door.

"But you know you can't keep the kid from me forever Inko." He frowned as he opened the door. "I _am_ his father after all." He muttered, shooting one last glare to Inko before he slammed the door.

Aqua felt her grip tighten on her weapon, tension finally left her body after a moment. She allowed herself to relax, her head throbbed painfully and her newly formed bruises were raditating pain. She shook her head, she's dealt with worse.

"Aqua! A-Are you alright?" Inko looks to her, cutting through the silence. She dropped her phone and ran over to the young woman. Looking over her burns and bruises.

"I'm fine, really. Nothing a small Cure can't fix. I was sloppy, but I got his attetion off of you and Izuku."

"And what on earth is that?" Inko pointed to her Keyblade. Her eyes widened as is suddenly disappeared. She looked to the young woman as she was about to open her mouth.

"The truth, understand? No dancing around the subject, no lies. The truth young woman." Inko told her, giving Aqua a stern glare. She saw her close her mouth, her gaze turned downwards as she looked for some kind of answer to give.

It wasn't until a moment later, she looked up and was about to give a reluctant answer that they were both interrupted by a small voice.

"Onee-chan? Mama?"

They both looked towards the source of the voice, seeing Izuku peering around the corner. Katsuki showed up a moment later, walking past the boy before he stopped next to Izuku.

Aqua gave a sigh of relief.

"Hey you two." Aqua smiled at them.

Izuku was still for a moment before he began to cry, he sobbed as he ran towards Aqua. Hugging her legs when he reached her.

Kasuki made his way over, looking at Aqua. He looked a bit worried, mixed with a bit of admiration.

"Hey, Sis...you okay?" He asks, seeing her slowly pick up the crybaby.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She assures him, looking around the room. "How about, you and Izuku go lay down?" She ruffles the blonde's hair. "While Inko and I clean up in here." She places her brother down, having a bit of difficulty with him clinging to her.

"B-But you're hurt!" Izuku sobbed, still clinging to her. "A-And you-"

"You two should have been in bed hours ago." Aqua said. "You both look exhausted."

"You look more exhausted!" Katsuki shouted.

"Katsuki, remember inside voice." Inko looked to him, getting a small nod. "And Aqua is right, you two should go to bed. We'll clean up in here, and I'll fix up Aqua." Inko reassured them, gently shooing them off to Izuku's room after a moment.

Katsuki whined but obeyed, Izuku had lingered for a moment, gazing worriedly at his sister.

"I'm okay Izuku, go ahead and head back to bed." She ran a head through his soft curls.

He wiped away his tears and sniffled softly before nodding, walking off. Responding to his friend's "Come on Deku!"

The two women stood in sielce for a moment before Inko looked at Aqua, who was already setting things in the torn up room right as best she can. She couldn't quite fix the various scorch marks here and there. She _could_ melt the ice she made though.

"Aqua..."

"I'm sorry for the damage I caused in the fight. I didn't mean to do much else than chase him off." She said, standing up and picking up a lamp that was somehow unbroken. She plugged it in and it lit up, as if nothing had happened.

"That's fine, I'm sure that can be fixed up with some plaster and paint but-"

"Maybe you should head to bed too, what just happened was pretty..." Aqua kept her back turned to Inko, fixing up a few frames that were either knocked over or tilted.

"Aqua." Inko chided, making her stop.

She watched the young woman slowly turn around.

Inko sighed after a moment, taking her arm and leading her to the bathroom. In silence, she made her sit down on the edge of the tub as she took a small first aid kit from under the sink.

Neither of them said anyhing as Inko had cleaned her up, not trying to catch Aqua's blue gaze that seemed to flick between her and the interesting bathroom tile. She would only hiss in pain every once in a while, small dabs of alcohol on the scratches on her face.

After what felt like forever in the deafening silence of the bathroom, Inko put away the kit and sat in front of Aqua; saying nothing for what felt like the longest time.

"I'll let you rest for today Aqua, but tomorrow I want the truth. Okay?" Inko looks into her tired blue eyes. They sit there for a moment before Aqua nods.

"Okay..." She sighs, looking away after a moment, seeming to be pondering something.

Inko stood up. "Try to get some sleep, okay? You need it." She said, noting the bags under her eyes.

"I will, don't worry." Aqua nodded, watching Inko walk away before standing up herself. She hears the click of a bedroom door and lets out a sigh.

Okay, time to get to work.

 **-SotP-**

She tossed and turned in her sleep, dreams of ash and smoke plauging her. She could hear screams, both her own and of her little boy's. Tears filled her stinging eyes as she tried to cough out the ash filling her lungs.

"I win Inko." A smug voice laughed, a dark figure on the horizon dragging away a small, struggling child as he screamed and tried to escape. He walked away from the burnt cropse of a young woman, almost unrecognizable. A strange weapon in her charred hand, burnt blue hair.

She couldn't move, she could only watch and scream as her son was taken away. The smoke began to blind her already tear-blurred world. Swallowing her in darkness, only the roaring of fire filling her ears.

"No!" She screamed, as she sat up. Mercifully pulled from her nightmare.

She looked around frantically as her stomach churned and swear poured down her face. She swallowed the bile rising in her throat and ran out of her room. Rushing to Izuku's room, she threw open the door and looked inside.

A sigh of relief left her as she saw both boys fast asleep, snug under the All Might blanket.

Soft breathing, and the slight pull of the blanket every once in a while.

It was just a nightmare, just another one of her nightmares.

She took a shaky breath as she slowly closed the door, careful not to wake them. She leans against the door for a moment, wiping away the sweat on her brow.

She took a moment to gather her self before she stood up straight again, hurriedly making her way over to the living room. The smell of smoke still sat heavy in there. She looked over to the couch, a bit startled to find it empty. The blanket messily thrown off, half of it on the floor while the other half is still hanging onto the couch.

"Aqua?" Inko asked aloud, looking around. Her eyes darted around, looking for any tell tale signs of the girl. She had passed the bathroom on her way here, and the door was open and the light off. There was no noise in the kitchen, or anywhere else for the matter.

She frantically began to check the windows, making sure none were broken or unlocked. Hisashi wouldn't have broken into the house already would he? Even if he did, or rather _tried_ , kidnap her, there would have been a struggle to say the least. She saw the mess the short skirmish between them left, and she could most certainly tell Aqua was not one to go quietly.

Did she sneak out? To find Hisashi? To make sure he wasn't going to come back?

Even if she did, what good is it using a window, why not use either the front or back doors?

She stopped, she hadn't checked the doors yet.

She made herself keep some kind of semblance of calm as she speed walked to the front door, finding it locked. Untouched.

If not the front door then...

She found herself running to the back door, worried about the wherabouts of the young woman. She tried to keep her footsteps as quiet as possible, not wanting to wake either of the boys.

The back door was unlocked.

She swallowed a lump in her throat, did she really leave?

Oh god did she go after him?

She felt ready to go into a panic until she saw a small flash of light, and she swore she heard a yell of some kind. She quickly turned on the light to the backyard before stepping out, closing the door behind her.

Her breath caught in her throat when she caught sight of Aqua.

There she was once again that strange weapon in hand.

She saw her jump up, and some kind of strange light to appear under her feet as she jumped even higher. She watched as the young woman had spun and twirled around the air, at times encasing her blade with fire, ice, or even lightning, creating waves of energy as she swung the blade.

It was almost like a dance, a beautiful yet dangerous dance. She could see her brow furrowed in effort to keep whatever power she was using in check. Sweat dripping off her face as she pushed herself harder and harder. When she said she was sloppy she meant it.

A wave of fire immediately smothered by an even bigger wave of ice. The air chilled immensely, making her shiver.

She watched the young woman finish a series of strikes, and wave after wave of of one element after another; she sees her land on the ground.

Inko was about to approach her when she saw Aqua bring the blade down in a quick slash. Cutting through the air before she threw it up into the sky, gravity had acted upon it and brought it down quickly.

Inko couldn't help but notice that she had seemed let down as she caught it, as if she was expecting something else. It didn't stop her though, as she once again through the air. This time she kept a two-handed grip on it and kept the tip of the weapon down to the ground. She grit her teeth as sweat poured down her face, muscles tensed as she slowly brought the weapon up. Pointing it straight ahead.

She could almost hear Aqua whispering 'please, please, please...'

She watched as a bright light formed at the base of the strange weapon and slowly climbed up to the blunt point. The light growing brighter and brighter until it became a very narrow beam and shot out in front of her. A few feet away from her it stopped, it began to tear through the thick fabric of reality and force open a dark, swirling portal of some kind.

She heard Aqua grunting in effort, concentrating on whatever she was doing. The rip grew bigger, and bigger until it looked large enough for one person to get through. Black lightning sparked around it, almost a warning.

Inko could only watch as the young woman quickly began sprinting towards the dark portal, keeping the blade in hand. She closed the distance in no time, reaching a hand towards the dark portal. Aqua tried to thrust herself through it, only to meet some kind of resistance, as if it was pushing back against her. The dark lightning began sparking around her as she tried to push herself through the portal.

Aqua yelled in pain as she kept trying to breath through, until she was finally pushed back and sent flying. She grunted as the portal stitched itself together and disappeared, leaving the young woman in pain.

Inko began to rush towards Aqua until she heard her yell.

"Dammit!" She screamed, slamming a fist down on the ground. Her shoulders shook as hot tears poured down her face.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" She repeated, crying as she tried to grab her weapon again.

She was frustrated, tired, and at her limit. She could probably try one more time before she collapses.

Inko began to walk towards her as Aqua tried to get to her feet. The blue-nette still not noticing her yet.

Aqua was about to aim her blade once more until she heard a soft voice.

"Aqua?"

Her head snapped up, her tear filled, exhausted eyes meeting concerned green ones.

"I-Inko! I-"

"Come on, let's head inside. I'll make some tea and then we can talk." She had left it at that and stood there for a moment before heading inside. Aqua walked a few feet behind her, cradling her arm.

Thankfully, Inko actually had more tea than she thought. She had another box of tea bags in the far back of the cupboard.

The house was quiet as the water boiled. Inko set up the mugs as Aqua sat at the table, lost in thought. Her eyes looked over to the clock- 3:21

She's been out for almost 3 hours, and still no success.

She bites her lip and hangs her head, her failure hanging heavy over her. She looks to her damaged arm, seeing the damage that was caused. It looked like a severe burns. yet the marks of the lightning stayed branded on her arm. It was minor compared to the injuries she sustained with her previous attempts. Most of them were healed with a simple cure, sometimes a cura.

She looks up when a mug is placed down in front of her, steam rising from the drink.

Aqua watched Inko sit down in another chair and place her own mug down. She felt awkward as Inko took a small sip of her hot tea before placing it down, the silence was maddening.

She swallowed a lump in her throat as she looked down to her tea, her reflection looking back at her with the same tired expression. She looked up again after she heard the mug being placed down.

"So, you said you wanted to talk?" Aqua asked, feeling like shrinking into herself. She can't shake the feeling of shame, the same way she'd feel when she had done somthing wrong as a child and receieved the silent anticipation from Master Eraqus.

Inko nodded, looking to the young woman.

"Remember what I told you, the first time we talked? I can only help you so much if you tell me so little." Inko sighed as she looked the young woman in the eye.

"Yes, I remember..." Aqua answered, before she took a small sip of her tea.

"Well, I meant it. Aqua, I want to help you, but you don't seem to realize that. I understand you may be a private person, but you have to understand that there are things I need to know. You fought off Hisashi...whatever that thing was, that weird sword. I walk into the backyard and I see you dancing and twirling in the air, with the same weapon. And a moment later you hurt yourself after do...doing what? What were you doing?" Inko finished after a moment, unclenching her fists she hadn't realized she had balled up.

Aqua looked down, once again she was faced with this situation.

It truth, she wasn't sure what to do. As much as she had wanted to follow the Master's teachings of keeping world peace, she found she couldn't. She failed at that too, hell she broke the first rule of Keyblade weilder's the moment she stepped out of the World of Departure!

She hugged herself as she grit her teeth, god she had failed ever since the first moment.

She shouldn't be a Keyblade Master, she had been destined to fail from the very beginning.

"Aqua?"

She snapped out of her thoughts, looking to the worried Inko. She hadn't realized she had been digging her nails into her skin, it actually hurt. She stopped hugging herself and instead let her bhands sit in her lap.

"I..."

She was already this far, she may as well ell her everything. After all, it was this woman who had shown her so much kindness. Gave her a place to stay, a family, a meal.

"I'm not from here..." She started, the words falling from her mouth.

She felt a bit stupid for leading with that, of course she's not from here. But the way she said it...

"Then where are you from?" Inko asked.

"I'm...from a place called World of Departure."

The words fell from her mouth, once she started she couldn't stop. She didn't realize she was crying until she was almost done, she tried her best to keep her voice level. To not scream and shout above her own sobs that echoed in the kitchen.

She wasn't sure why, but it felt so good to let it all out, to have someone to listen to her. Somebody who she could trust, and was willing to help. Even if Inko didn't believe her, not that there was much room to have any disbelief, it was liberating.

She was in absolute tears by the end, hands gripped the table tightly as fat tears rolled down her face. Her throat was raw and her vision blurry.

She felt so much better, yet she still felt so angry.

"Aqua..."

"A-And even..." She fell to her knees, she hadn't even realized that she was on her feet. She hadn't even been aware that her magic was in action, the temperature of the room was freezing. Frost on the walls, her tea was frozen over.

"And even if I _did_ get back, even _if_ Terra was okay, and Ven was awake. Who says they're even looking for me, for all I know they hate me!"

Inko was shivering, yet slowly made her way to the young woman. She knelt down, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Why would they hate you? Why on earth would you think-"

"I left them Inko! I _left_ them! I just dumped Terra in the Realm of Light, and I made a promise I couldn't keep! I said I'd be back to wake Ven up, and instead I've been trapped in the Realm of Darkness, and the minute I get out I can't even try to get to them! I'm just sitting here, doing nothing while they could be suffering! What if Ventus is awake and he needs me? What if Terra is in trouble? I can't do anything! I have a damn Keyblade, but I can't even use it! How can I even call myself a Keyblade Master if I c-can't even create a gateway between worlds? If I can't even do anything?" She hiccups between her sobs, frustrated.

"I'm not doing anything! I can't even do anything! I'm just sitting here doing nothing while...while they're out there. Alone...just like me."

There was silence, for what felt like the longest time. They sat there, in the frozen kitchen in a delicate silence.

Inko was the first to break it.

"But you're _are_ doing something." She said after a moment."You're trying to reach them, you're not just sitting around and hoping everything will figure itself out. You're _doing_ something. Aqua you're tearing yourself apart just to try to get to them. Now I may not understand, most of everything you had told me, with Unversed, and Keyblades. But I do know, that you're trying. You're going to find them, but you can't do that if you've injured yourself beyond repair."

As Inko spoke, Aqua had become a little more aware about how her little outburst affected the kitchen. She slowly began to thaw the ice, warming up the room. Swallowing a lump in her throat as she feels herself finally calming down.

"I'm..."

She words died in her throat as Inko shook her head.

"It's alright, although we'll have to clean up tomorrow. But it's fine for now." Inko helps the young woman to her feet

"I can-"

"Tomorrow. for now let's get your arm cleaned up."

It wan't until Inko had begun wrapping Aqua's arm in gauze that she realized that the injuries Aqua had were gone. The young woman admited she could heal herself, and she would be more than willing to heal her current injury. Inko had shook her head and told Aqua to let it heal naturally and rest. She had probably figured that healing took a lot of energy.

Once Aqua had promised she'd stay inside and get some rest, Inko had finally let her be. As soon as she closed the door to her room she let out a breath she hadn't been realizing holding.

She laid down on the bed as her thoughts swirled about in her head. She had listened to Aqua's tale, how she had become a 'Keyblade Master' apparently her weapon was called a Keyblade. How she felt so undeserving of the title after all that happened. Her fear of never seeing her friends again, her even bigger of fear of them being hurt or hating her. There's so much turmoil inside of her, it's hard to navigate.

How hard was it for Aqua to navigate through her own mind? That constant feeling of not being good enough, and prominent fear of every horrible thing that could be happening to her friends, _her family_. She was torn, she had a sense of peace and safety she hadn't been able to feel in a long time in this place. Something she never got to feel in that place called the 'Realm of Darkness' where she had been trapped.

Granted, at first she was skeptical. Not sure how much she could eally believe of the girl's tale. Yet as she had gone on, about her friends, how they were separated. How she had lost everyone one by one. Her friend wasn't himself, and there was a chance he was back to normal after she disappeared. Her other friend had been put into a deep sleep. Her Master was struck down by his own pupil. That emotion, that heartbreak can't be faked. That pain she's endured.

Inko couldn't bring herself to feel hurt when Aqua had said she wanted to go home. From the very beginning she knew this place was going to be a temporary home. Yet she found herself grow a bit more attached to the girl, especially Izuku. But she had a duty to uphold, she has to find a way home. She knew Aqua probably had a few teories as to why she couldn't open a proper gateway. She'd hear her out tomorrow.

Right now she just wanted to sleep. To hopefully not find herself in the realm of nightmares again.

 **-LotF-**

"Come on Onee-chan! It's time to get up!" Izuku had woken up a bit earlier than usual, along with Katsuki.

They were full of energy as usual, excited to get the day started, to see what they'll do today. Maybe go out and watch a movie? Maybe try a new place that opened up somewhere in town? Who knows, all they knew was that neither Aqua or Inko were awake and they were up.

Since Aqua still slept on the couch and her 'surprise' wasn't quite ready yet, they couldn't turn on the TV and lounge around until someone woke up.

Aqua groaned and pulled the blanket over her head. She groaned even louder when one of the boys pulled the blanket off of her and shook her.

"Come on sis!"

She grabbed her pillow and buried her face into it. "It's too early..." She mumbled, trying to fall back to sleep.

"No! It's early enough, now come on!" Katsuki said as he grabbed a throw pillow from the smaller couch and threw it at her.

Aqua didn't even care to catch it, it hit her then fell to the floor. She grabbed the pillow after it fell ad threw it back.

"Hey!"

"Then don't throw stuff at me." Aqua hummed, her voice slightly muffled from the pillow.

"But you're not getting up." Katsuki huffed.

Izuku pulled at his sister's arm, trying to get her up.

"Come on Onee-chan. It's time to get up." He whined, stopping for a moment when Aqua looked up to him.

At the moment Aqua was too tired to really care or realize the words that tumbled out of her mouth.

"Is mom awake yet?" She asked, a raised eyebrow.

"Um..." Izuku looked down, shuffling his feet.

"I'll wake up when she wakes up." Aqua said, and pulled the blanket over her head again.

The two boys looked at each other for a moment before Katsuki pushed Izuku towards Inko's room.

"She's _your_ mom."

"But it was you who wanted to wake up everybody Kacchan!"

Aqua listened to them squabble for a moment, she couldn't help but smile. It reminded her of Terra and her when they were younger.

They would have their days where they would wake up early and play around in the academy. They would run about and play tag, hide and seek, and have their own variations of races. But when they got hungry, and neither of them could cook; they had to wake up Master Eraqus. For some reason they'd always be afraid to wake him up, it was probably just a kid thing.

They would usually stand in front of his room and argue over who got to wake him up, cashing in favors they owe each other, and arguing over who did it last time. By the time they had decided both of them would wake him up, the door would open and a smirking Eraqus would be standing at the door. Having heard the entire, ridiculous conversation.

He would laugh at them, and then their day would really start. After breakfast they'd be training for the rest of the day.

Aqua couldn't help but smile, thinking back to the good times. When everything was so simple and clean. When the only thing they'd have to worry about is not breaking an arm, or being too reckless and falling off the world.

She ended up falling asleep for another blissful 30 minutes before Inko shook her awake. Like with Izuku and Katsuki she just let out a displeased groan and pulled the blanket over her head when Inko had uncovered her.

"Come on, time to get up." She laughed, walking into the kitchen.

"But I don't want to..." Aqua pressed the pillow to her face.

"Well, that's what happens when you stay up late." Inko hums.

"Mmph."

"Come on, we have to go out today Aqua." Inko sighed as she placed a mug down next to Aqua.

"What do we have to get mama?" Izuku asked as he climbed on the couch and sat on Aqua's back despite her loud groans. He watched Katsuki climb up after him as he absentmindedly played with Aqua's blue hair.

"We have to get a few things to finish cleaning up the house, and we also have to get Aqua's quirk registered." She answered, as she held back a laugh. Kasuki sat next to Izuku, ignoring Aqua's groans to get off of her.

"If you get up _maybe_ we'll get off of you." Katsuki laughed. Izuku was trying to make a braid, not sure how. Didn't really help that Aqua's hair was short. It was messy adn fell apart easily.

Aqua lifted her head a bit. "Izuku?" She asked.

"Yeah?"

"Could you live without your best friend?"

"No."

"...Fair enough. Alright, I'm getting up." She slowly sat up, making the boys jumps off of her and scatter, running away laughing.

Aqua sighed and rubbed her back before looking down to the coffee table, a warm cup of coffee sitting in front of her.

She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she looked at the cup, looking up as Inko sat down on the armchair.

"Feeling better?" The woman asked as she combed a finger through her hair.

"A bit, still tired though." Aqua admitted, picking up the cup and taking a sip. She cringed at the bitter taste, but drank it anyway.

"Well, you can rest later. Today we need to get your quirk registered, and get you registered for citizenship." Inko said as she sipped her coffee.

"Registered? But Inko, I can't stay here I'm-"

"I know you want to get to your friends Aqua, but in the time you're here you're going to need some form of identification. Not to mention it's law to register your quirk."

"It's not really a quirk..." Aqua sighed as she flexed her hand. It was doing better from last night, not as painful. Though she still felt pins and needles, it would involuntarily twitch every once in a while. Otherwise, it was fine.

Inko nodded, recalling last night's conversation.

"I think I may have figured out why I can't open a proper gateway..." Aqua hummed, taking another sip of her coffee. She didn't shudder this time, still disliking the bitterness on the back of her tongue.

Inko looked at her, nodding as an acknowledgement.

"It's partly because, I'm not too sure how to. The ones from my part of the Realm of Light, were pretty much already unlocked, all connected. This world is...the best way I can put it is..." She hummed, looking for the words. "This world isn't connected to any other worlds. There are no lanes I can really use or make to other worlds. Yet even if the lanes weren't there I could probably go through that dark space, but I'd need my Keyblade glider and armor. I lost both of them though..."

"You can't think of any other way?" Inko asked, feeling concerned. Aqua had shot down any ways to get to her friends just as soon as she put them up.

"Maybe, I could go through the Realm of Darkness; but I'd rather not. I have no idea how long I've been in there, and I had no way of getting out, and I have no way of getting back in." Aqua crossed her arms, looking down. Her mind trying to come up with any possibility, any way to get out of this world. To reach her friends.

Maybe she could turn her Master's Keyblade into a glider somehow. Even then Master Eraqus always told them never to traverse between worlds without their armor. If she did, what were the odds of her facing negative effects? What _kind_ of negative effects would she face? How long would she have to be out there to deal with said effects?

"Well you can think on it a bit more later. For now let's just get out of the house, a quick outing." Inko smiled as she stood up.

Aqua nodded, about to stand up before she heard a yell and a crash.

"Deku did it!"

"No I didn't!"

Despite the beautiful day outside. With a calm blue sky, a few dark clouds here and there; and singing birds hiding in the trees and flora. The cool breeze that blew by softly, bringing the smell of flowers and promised rain...

Aqua had a dreaded feeling in her stomach.

 **-SotP-**

 **Hello Everybody! It's me, the frenchiest fry!**

 **A very, very, very tired French fry.**

 **I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've been trying my best to work on this as much as possible while also working on Heroes of the Nightmare. (I had decided to put more focus into this story for the time being)**

 **I've been dealing with a lot of school stuff as of recent. Football season just kicked me in the teeth, and everything got really busy (I'm a trainer, I help take care of the players). I also had been doing a few things to reduce some serious stressors. I dropped a few classes and I've been dealing with a few personal demons. As well as patching together a friendship that had almost fallen apart.**

 **But I'm still working on these fanfics (These are actually stress reducers for me) and I'm really sorry I take so long to update.**

 **Now before I go I wanna say another sorry. I had kinda rushed through the ending right here. And I'm really sorry for that.**

 **Second I wanna say that Aqua _is_ 18, but she's still not sure how much time had passed and now that I look back on it I probably should have put that back then. Let me throw myself out a window for that one.**

 **Anyway, hope you guys have a good day/night.**

 **I don't own KH or MHA.**


	6. Chapter 6: I Am Here

**I Am Here**

"I've driven a Keyblade glider and fought monsters _while_ on it." Aqua muttered to herself as she adjusts the mirrors of Inko's car. "How hard can this be?"

Inko silently sent up a prayer to whatever god was willing to listen right there and then before letting out a sigh. She pulled the seatbelt a little bit tighter while Mitsuki sat in the back. An eyebrow cocked and a grin on her face. She had only heard 'How hard can this be?'

"Just be careful." Inko said, watching the young woman adjust her grip on the wheel.

"Don't worry, I got this." Aqua smiled, a confidence that she hadn't felt in a long time finally showing through.

Two minutes later Aqua ate her words, the car mere cenitmeters from the first stop sign that was literally 15 feet away from the Midoriya household. She was pale and seemed a bit panicked, her grip tight on the steering wheel. They had swerved through a trimmed bush turned up some dirt.

Inko had a death grip on the bar that was above her door while Mistuki had howled in laughter. Louder than one of the car alarms Aqua had manage to trigger.

"Pretty hard apparently." Mitsuki laughed, getting out of the backseat and walking around to stand next to the driver's door. She opened the door and looked at the young woman who had been able to take her hands off the wheel.

"Want me to drive?"

"Please."

Aqua sat in the backseat and stewed in her own shame as Mitsuki laughed about it, Inko had joined in a few moments later.

"It was't _that_ funny." Aqua protested, shouting above their laughter as they drove down the road. Her face was red with embarrasment, which only grew another shade darker with another bout of laughter.

"I-I'm sorry Aqua, b-but it kind of was." Inko said, laughing through tears.

"Oh man, that was great. I haven't had a laugh like that in a while." Mitsuki chuckled, a small smile on her face as they headed downtown. They had to run a few errands before the boys had to be picked up from daycare. The two grownups had the day off, there was an incident at each of their work places that had left at least one or two floors out of order and flooded. It might have been caused by a small bout between a small villain and a new hero.

It worked out for Mitsuki anyway, she had been saving her days for paid leave, although Inko had been sent an email that said she would have to work from home. The files she had to sprt through would be sent to her later.

"Well, at least you can say you've driven a car." Mitsuki grinned.

"Not very well though." Aqua sighed, looking out the window.

 **-FB-**

She had gotten everything registered about a week ago, it had been fairly simple.

It also helped that Inko actually had a an old friend from high school in the office. He owed her a lot of favors anyway, seeing as she pretty much helped him through high school with all their study and cramming sessions.

He had made the process a lot easier, and thankfully had not asked too many questions. The only inquiry he really had, was her age and date of birth. He had offered to register her quirk as well, but she turned it down. Inko insisted they did that part right at least.

It wasn't really until then that Aqua had found out how much time had really passed. She had been about 17 when everything happened, the Mark of Mastery Exam, the Unversed, Xehanort. Everything. All that had happened within the span of at least a month and a half, maybe more or less. It was hard keeping track of time when on a serious task while traversing between worlds.

Her birthday was a few months away from the Mark of Mastery Exam, which had happened in about September. She never really expected her journey in the Realm of Darkness would have her stay nearly a year.

"So what is your date of birth?" The man had asked, typing away on his computer.

"December 14th." Aqua had replied, the date forever burned into her mind. The man nodded and typed in the information quick, leaving them in a quick silence.

"Inko." Aqua said quietly, not wanting to disturb the man. "I never really asked, but what month is it?" She asked.

"It's July." Inko answered, raising an eyebrow. Her eyes quickly darted to the two boys sitting down, making sure they're alright.

"O-Oh..." Aqua said, a few of her fears cofirmed.

She had been in the Realm of Darkness longer than she thought, almost a year. She didn't want to think she was gone for so long, she had wished she was only gone for a few weeks. It was all just wishful thinking.

A year, she's has left them all alone for almost year now. She's been alone for almost a year.

"Is everything alright?" Inko asked.

"Y-Yeah..." Aqua said softly, making herself focus. She could worry about that later in the privacy of their home.

"Age?" The man asked, as he typed in a few more things before he looked up.

"I'm 18." She answered, he typed in a few more things.

"I thought you were 17." Inko whispered. She looked worried as she saw a glimmer of sadness cross Aqua's eyes.

"I'll tell you later." She had murmured.

 **-FB-**

"So what exactly is it you're looking for other than a better shade of green?" Mitsuki asked as Inko squinted between two paint cans.

"I still have to fix up that wall." Inko muttered absentmindedly. She was a bit tense, and in a bit of a hurry. If a stranger passed by they might have just thought that she was in a hurry and had a lot of errands to run. Her two companions knew better than that.

"Sorry..." Aqua said softly, remembering she was part of the reason it needed said repairing. Fiddling with the botle of water she brought from the car.

Inko looked at her and smiled. "It's alright, you did what you had to do." She said, before she looked back to the paint cans. "And Mitsuki, I also have to find something for Izuku."

"Oh yeah, isn't his birthday next week?"

Aqua choked on her water, and gripped on the bottle too tightly. Some of the water spilled out as she coughed.

"Aqua are you alright?" Inko had turned to her quickly, and saw the young woman finally catch her breath.

"His birthday is next week?" She asked, her voice a bit louder than she intended.

"Yeah, you didn't know?" Mitsuki raised an eyebrow, before shooting a glance to Inko.

"No, I didn't." She ran a hand through her hair. Now she couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. Her own little brother, granted she just recently came into the family. "What am I even supposed to get him?" She asked herself.

"We can help you figure it out." Inko smiled.

"I think this one is closer to your wall." Mitsuki said after a moment, looking to the paint cans.

 **-SotP-**

"So he likes all heroes?" Aqua asked as Inko hummed to herself, pushing a few clothes on the rack aside.

"Yes, although All Might is his favorite." Inko answered.

"All Might is everyone's favorite." Mitsuki said, as she scrolled through something on her phone.

"All Might is..." Aqua thought aloud, remembering Izuku had mentioned the name. "The number one hero right?"

"Yup." Mitsuki answered, pocketing her phone after a moment.

"I think he meant to show me a video of him the other day." Aqua said to herself. "Something about his favorite video."

"Yes! Found it!" Inko had exclaimed, making a few heads turn in their direction. The woman blushes a bit then turns towards the two, a onesie in her hands. The little hoodie is yellow, and the body is a mixture of red, white, and blue. It has the same color scheme as the pajamas he usually wears.

"It that the new one?" Mitsuki asked, tilting her head.

Inko nods. "Yeah, I'm glad I was able to find it. They're all sold out online." She sighed in relief.

"Well, that's one gift down. Now onto another." Mitsuki looked at the pondering Aqua, watching her trying to figure out her little perdicament.

"Maybe we could look for a figurine." Inko said as she put a hand on her shoulder, snapping Aqua from her thoughts.

"I'm not to sure..." Aqua rubbed the back of her neck as they made their way to the front desk to pay. "I mean, I just feel like I should give him something special."

"What would you usually get for people when it was their birthdays?" Mitsuki asked, an eyebrow raised.

She bit her lip, she and Terra would always make each other little arts and crafts for each other. Whether it be a card or a tiny trinket. There would be other times where Master Eraqus allowed them to travel to a nearby world for a book or a toy the other might have wanted at one point. Terra would always get her different kinds of books, when she was younger they were usually fantasy picture books. She would usually have a hard time getting things for Terra's. Sometimes he would be all over the place with his interests, other times he would be focused on one things then move onto something else.

She couldn't really help but feel her gifts were never really right. The only time she had gotten something right it wasn't even a birthday, it was just a special occasion.

Would Izuku treasure something like that? Maybe.

He's turning four, so maybe she's thinking too hard?

"Come up with anything yet?" Mitsuki asked as Inko grabbed the bag and looked to her daughter.

"I think so!"

"Well that's good." Inko smiled. "What is it?"

"I'm going to need a few things."

 **-LotF-**

The days passed by far too quickly, but the nights were agonizingly long.

She would keep her day busy with working on her small project, and do a few odd jobs around the neighborhood. Helping out the neighbors and the occasional passerby. It got her out of the house, and helped her to get to know the different people in the area. There was an old lady who lived down the street who would often need help unloading bags from her small car. Or a man who needed help cleaning out his garage.

The nights though when were everything slowed down and left her alone. Ever since Inko found out about her night training, she only allowed her about an hour to an hour and a half. If whatever injuries she had weren't too bad. She had to be in bed at least before 2 in the morning. When she laid down to sleep her mind couldn't help but always go back to Ven and Terra. She wants to find, to be able to reach them. She had taken one step forward, yet also set back by at least three.

She would always tell herself that she just has to get stronger, to work harder to get where she needs to be.

Half of the time her dreams would be pleasant. Sometimes they'd be about Terra, Ven, and her. All together once again, almost like the horrors from before had never happened. They were there, sitting under that night sky and watching the stars shoot by.

The other times her dreams were nothing but confusion, guilt and darkness.

She'd be running through the Realm of Darkness, unable to summon her Keyblade or use any kind of magic. She'd would be chased by her darker counterpart, unable to lose her no matter where she went. She would run faster and faster until she somehow ended up on some kind of beach, where the night was eternal. The moon hung over rippling waters staying in place forever. Once she had reached the beach there would be two figures facing away from her.

They were always familiar, and once she realized who they were she would call out their names. They run to them, full of relief and happiness.

Only to see, once they turned around, both had a pair of piercing yellow eyes with malicious intentions. They wouldn't give her a second to even react as they both thrust their Keyblades at her. Striking her in the chest. The wind would be knocked out of her as she was blasted back. Hot, angry pain would erupt from where they struck her. She would make a pitiful attempt to fight back, only to be knocked to the ground again and again.

Yet throughout her beating, she had always found herself getting up again and again. Desperate to save them, to reach out to them and bring them back from whatever darkness had consumed them.

She would be able to keep going, until one of her friends stepped forward, his body shifting and forming into a grotesque creature exactly like the one that had loomed over him in Radiant Garden.

Something inside her broke at the sight of him changing, as if it were a mocking statement.

She couldn't save him, not anymore.

She was too late.

She would rush forward, screaming her heart out as she tried to fight back once again. This time the other two merely stood by, watching her bleed and break further and further until he slammed her into the ground.She would make an attempt to get back up, only to be pinned to the ground as she was forced to look up.

From there, barely hidden within the shadows a figure stood, covered in their own darkness. They looked so painstakingly familiar, and as the shadows faded away everything began to grow dark. They said something to her, unheard through the fading of her dream self's conciousness.

She would wake up gasping trying to catch her breath through her distressed sobs. It would take her what felt like hours to finally center herself and remember it was just a dream. They weren't gone, they weren't taken by darkness.

She could still save them, one day.

Aqua refused to go back to sleep, spending the rest of the nighttime hours working on her little project. Occasionally darting to the couch and pretending to be asleep when she heard Inko's door open. More likely than not to be checking on her children. She would surely throw a fit if she saw Aqua wasn't in bed, insiting she sleep and regain whatever energy she lost working during the day and training vigorously in the later hours.

Goodness knows she did the first night she found Aqua who stayed up late and nearly iced over the table out of frustration. Quite frankly it was better than burning it, which she found her almost doing another night she stayed up late.

Aqua knew that depriving herself of sleep would affect her performance both in the day while she works and her nightly training. She would just tough it out, mostly with the help of bitter coffee.

Inko had laughed at her the other day when she saw her in the early hours before work trying to get the coffee machine to work. To which Aqua had to explain she was not savy in the kitchen most of the time. Unless it came to baking, because Terra, Ven, and Master Eraqus were all hopeless in that aspect. Whereas they all had her beat when it came to regular cooking.

She told Inko she'd rather _not_ set the kitchen on fire.

Waking up early did have it's perks though, a bit more training time and more time to work on _that._

It especially paid off when the day finally came.

It was supposed to be a good day, a normal day.

 **-SotP-**

"Izuku..." A soft voice spoke, the boy had groaned softly and turned over in his bed.

"Izuku." The voice said again and lightly shook him. He opened one eye to see his sister smiling at him. "Guess what today is."

The boy yawned and sat up, rubbing his eyes as he pondered over her words for a moment.

"I think today's the 15th..." He muttered to himself, trailing off as his mind was still waking up. Having a hard time processing it for a moment.

"Uh huh..." Aqua held back a laugh as she watched him tilt his head for a moment.

"15...of..." He stayed still for a moment before a grin appeared on his face, and he sprung to his feet.

"It's my birthday!" He cheered loudly and ran over to her, nearly falling off the bed. "I'm four now!"

"Happy birthday Izuku!" She smiled and caught him as he jumped off his bed in glee. She spun around with him before placing him down and watching him run down the hall, calling after his mother.

Aqua smiled as she followed down the hall, she saw him jump up and down in front of her excitedly before Inko leaned down to hug him.

Inko smiled and stood back up. "I'll be done with breakfast in a few minutes, then we can go pick up Katsuki. How about you go get dressed and brush your teeth?"

Izuku nodded quickly and ran off in excitement. Who better to spend his birthday with rather than his family and best friend?

Aqua watched him run off and looke to Inko who poured a little bit of soup into a small bowl, next to another small bowl of rice.

"Just Katsuki?" Aqua asked as she walked over, offering to help by pouring some water.

Inko's lip drew into a thin line as she looked down. Still setting up their breakfast.

"Izuku doesnt have very many friends..." Inko sighed sadly.

"What?" Aqua asked, nearly spilling the water. "How? He's such a good kid, he's so friendly with everyone." She carried the cups to the table before looking to Inko.

She shook her head. "I honestly have no clue, It puzzles me honestly. But, he has Katsuki, and they've been together ever since they met. I'm happy my baby has at least one friend..." She smiled, looking to the framed picture of her son and Katsuki on the wall.

Aqua hummed softly to herself, she could see now how and why Izuku liked to be around Katsuki so much. Why he was so attached to him. His closest and only friend.

She couldn't help but think about herself and Terra in that aspect. For the longest time they had each other. They would follow each other wherever the other may go, for the longest time she would only follow Terra. She had wanted to do what he wanted, to go wherever he wanted to go. Only wanting to be with her friend.

Then they grew up, they still stuck together; but they both ahd their differences. When they were a bit older they'd have arguments about what to do, or how to do something. Yet they were still together. Always. Then Ven came along, a new friend.

"I am here!" Izuku cheered as he jumped out from behind a wall, wearing black shorts and a red shirt with the words 'I am here' in blue and white, stars surrounded the text.

"Yes you are." Inko laughed as she placed down the plates of food for the three of them. "Now eat up, this little hero needs his energy."

"Yeah!"

They ate their breakfast quickly, listening to Izuku gush in excitement. How he'll get his quirk soon, how he hopes it's something like his mother's or maybe something alike to All Might's strength. Yet no matter what quirk he got, he was going to be a hero.

"I think you'd be a great hero." Aqua said as she washed one of the bowls.

"I think you'd be a great hero too Onee-chan!" Izuku beamed, handing her another bowl to wash. "You're super cool, and you've an amazing quirk! Plus you're really nice!"

Aqua looked to him as she put the washed bowl on the dish rack. "Well, I still think _you'd_ be a better hero."

He shook his head. "Nuh-uh! You!"

"Nuh-uh."

Izuku stuck his tongue out at her and she mirrored the action.

"You two ready to go?" Inko asked as she came into the kitchen, walking into the two arguing over who would be a better hero.

"No you!"

"No you!"

"No you!"

"No, hey mind passing me that last bowl?"

"Here you go."

"Thank you. Now as I was saying, you!"

"Nuh-uh!"

Inko watched in amusement, grabbing her phone and taking a picture or two of them before grabbing their attention.

"Hey, come on. We still have to go pick up Katsuki."

"Right." Aqua nodded, quickly putting the washed bowl away and drying off her hands. She and Izuku made their way to the door before she looked at him.

"Hey Izuku."

"Yeah?" He looked up to her.

She tapped his nose. "You. And that's that."

"What! No, hey!"

They had picked up Katsuki, and from there the day really began.

The sky was bright, with very few clouds. Although there were a few on the horizon of the ocean that gave the possibility of rain later in the day.

The city was bustling like usual, everybody on some kind of task. Whether it be heading to work, or going home. Maybe grabbing a bite or picking something up for a friend. There were peple everywhere. Lively and bustling.

While they walk down the street, Aqua couldn't help but think of that feeling she had when they went out last week. That pit of dread that had hung over her nearly the entire day, not fading until they had gotten home. She had been tense all day, finding herself looking everywhere. She chalked it up to nervousness about the encounter with Hisashi, she hadn't wanted to be out in the open where they could be attacked from anywhere.

She wasn't as tense as today, but still kept an eye on the two boys. After all, wasn't that what a sister was supposed to do?

"Where are we going mama?" Izuku asked excitedly, smiling up at Inko. Katsuki was grining too, his friend was finally going to get his quirk and then they could both be heroes. But Katsuki would still be the bigger hero.

"We're going... _somewhere_." Inko said with a small laugh. Aqua bit back a laugh as she saw the two look surprised with that statement.

"Aw! Mama why can't you just say?" Izuku asked.

"Because that'd ruin the surprise?" Katsuki asked her.

"Exactly."

It took them a few minutes, but they soon found themselves at a movie theatre. The boys cheered in excitement and bagan babbling amongst themselves, guessing what they might be watching. The two had gone back to paying attention once Inko told them two take her hands. They were guessing and asking what movie they were going to see, until they finally saw the movie poster that was hung up beside the doors.

"Stardust Heroes!" The boys yelled in excitement.

"I thought it wasn't out yet." Katsuki grinned as they walked inside.

"I can't wait, I can't wait..." Izuku mumbled excitedly.

"Stardust Heroes? What's supposed to be about?" Aqua asked, holding the popcorn and drinks. She offered to carry it all, since Inko had the boys.

Izuku looked to her as he sat down. "It's about a star that-"

A woman from the next row over shushed the child loudly before turning back around. Izuku felt his face turn a bit red and looked down, keeping his mouth shut. The theatre began to darknen before he looked at her with a smile. "I think you'll like it."

Truth be told, Aqua did like it. It was about a star that fell from the sky, that landed on Earth. The creature looked like it was made out of the night sky, many stars reflecting on it's skin. The creature's name was Astrea, and ended on Earth in a time of crisis. There are villains and strange monsters over running the planet and the possibility of collapse is immenent. Astrea at first wanted nothing to do with the world and just wanted to go home, until they realized their brother mind have ended up on the same planet.

The movie ended on a cliffhanger, with the reveal of the brother who was found out to be turned against her. Working with the evil creatures and villains.

It was a bit cheesy in certain moments, but overall it was cute. Izuku and Katsuki seemed to like it.

"Why did it have to end like that? It's going to take like a year for another movie to come out!" Katsuki huffed, crossing his arms as they walked out of the theatre.

"I can't wait for the next movie! I hope Astrea can save her brother." Izuku hummed as he held Aqua's hand.

"We didn't even get his name.That part was really dumb." The young blonde growled in irritation.

"Well, I guess you're just going to have to wait for the next movie." Inko smiled, holding out her hand for Katsuki to take.

"But that's going to take forever." Izuku looked up to her,

"All good things comes to those who wait." Aqua looked at him.

"Yes, but don't wait for too long. Like with boiling water." Inko smiled at Aqua.

"It was _one_ time." Aqua said, a bit louder than she meant to.

"Is that why you had to use the other kettle?" Izuku asked his mother.

"Mm-hm."

Aqua sighed as she covered her face with one hand, her face colored itself a light shade of pink.

"It's okay Sis, I once burned the fish mom and dad were cooking." Katsuki shrugged. "I thought it tasted good, but they didn't."

Izuku shuddered. "It tasted really weird Kacchan." The boy told his friend.

"But you ate it."

"It needed a lot of salt though." Izuku muttered softly. "And pepper, and sauce...and other stuff..."

"What was that!"

"Aright you two, calm down. I think it's time to grab something to eat." Inko looked to them, a smile on her face.

"Yeah, I'm kinda hungry." Katsuki said, with Izuku nodding with his statement.

"Then I know just the place."

While they walked through the busy streets, Aqua couldn't help but feel as if she had to steel her nerves. More than once, within the distance that had to walk, she felt like there was someone watching her. It made chills run up and down her spine as they walked. She did her best to subtlety look around, trying to spot anything or anybody suspicious. She found herself holding Izuku's hand tightly.

She would look to Inko to see if she noticed anything. Inko looked like she wasn't bothered by anything. Keeping up with the conversation between the two boys. Occasioanlly saying something that made the two boys jump to another conversation.

Aqua wanted to turn around, to see if there was anybody following them, watching them. But she knew there they'd either scatter the moment she turned, or they might attack. She wasn't sure what would happen, but at the moment it was a risk she didn't want to take.

"Right Onee-chan?"

"H-Huh?" Aqua, was snapped out of her thoughts, looking down to see Izuku looking up to her.

"There's such a thing as too much spice! I like spicy food, but Kacchan likes _really_ spicy food! One time one of his friends tried to taste food Kacchan brought from home, and he he said his mouth was on fire!"

"Your food is way spicier Deku! My face nearly melted off that one time."

"Nuh-uh. It wasn't spicy at all, and it was just one time Kacchan!"

"Well, personally I'm not too big on spicy food." Aqua said, getting the attention of the two boys. "I prefer sweeter, tangy foods." She shrugged.

"How sweet?" Izuku asked.

"One time one of my friend ran out of the room screaming for water." She laughed, remembering how Terra had a preference for more savory, spicy foods. Terra had wanted to have a taste her tea, even though she warned him on the amount of sugar she had put in it. He had scoffed and taken a sip, only to shudder and start screaming. Once he had been able to down what was probably five cups of water he ran back into the study and called her a sweet toothed monster. That was one of the sole reasons while baking she usually had to make a different batch for Terra.

"Oh my." Inko laughed.

"I bet I could take it!" Katsuki grinned at her.

"Oh really?" Aqua asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Please don't give him a sugar rush Aqua. Please." Inko begged as they walked into a restaurant.

"Don't worry, I won't."

 **-SotP-**

The four had a filling meal.

Izuku had gotten a bowl of katsudon, his favorite. While Katsuki had gotten some kind of curry. Aqua and Inko had gotten a soup of some kind, and mostly talked quietly about what the gifts for Izuku. Although it was mostly Aqua worrying about her gift for Izuku, she couldn't help but be nervous whether he'd like it or not. Inko assured her that Izuku would love anything that she gave him, he was a very affectionate child who put a lot of value into the things he's given.

"You sure? I mean, I feel like I could have done better on it. But I was crunched for time." She sighed, as she ran a hand through her hair.

"It'll be fine Aqua. I'm sure he'll love it." Inko smiled at her.

"Mama? Where are we gonna go next?" Izuku asked, his bowl empty. He hadn't realized how hungry he was until be started eating.

"Hm, how do you feel about going to the park?" Inko suggested.

"Yeah!" The boys cheered, a new energy filled them.

They walked out of the restaurant, to find the sky had grown cloudy, blocking out the late afternoon sun. There were soft rumblings of thunder ringing out above them, the threat of rain hanging over them.

"Those clouds moved in a bit faster than I thought they would." Inko muttered softly, looking around. The citizens seemed in more of a rush, walking quickly to their destination in case water should come pouring down at any moment.

"Maybe we should head home?" Aqua asked, she knew they were a few ways away from Inko's car. They had walked a majority of the day, keeping the car in a parking garage. They figured that walking around would be good for them and they'd be able to see any street performances if any. Not to mention finding parking anywhere would be a nightmare.

"But it might _not_ rain." Izuku tried, looking up to the cluds. He tried to will them away, not wanting to head home quite yet.

"But it also _might_." Aqua raised an eyebrow. "And we don't want you or Katsuki to get sick."

"We won't get sick from a little rain." Katsuki huffed, crossing his arms.

"Are you sure about that?" Aqua asked. "If you get sick you won't be able to play with Izuku for a long time, and you'll end up feeling really bad."

"I won't let a stupid cold stop me!"

Inko sighed and looked around before taking the boy's hands.

"Maybe we should head home, and you know what Izuku when we get back we can put on your favorite movie and open your presents, and have cake. How does that sound?"

Izuku looked at her for a moment before nodding, it sounded like a good idea.

Katsuki opened his mouth to say something, but what ended up coming out was a startled yelp as the sky rang out with a deep bellow of thunder. He quickly covered his mouth.

"Scared of the thunder?" Aqua asked, not in a teasing tone but a comforting one instead. She ruffled his spiky blond hair.

"N-No! It just surprised me!" Katsuki insisted, while Izuku had let out a whimper. He tightened his grip on his mother's hand out of fear.

"Well, we'll be home soon enough. Come on let's-oh!" Inko suddenly stopped. "I almost forgot, come on. We actually have to stop at one more store. I have to pick a little something up." She said, walking forward, she had spotted a small convenience store near the parking garage. She could pick up the candles there.

"And then we'll go home?" Izuku asked.

Inko nodded. "Then we'll go home."

They walked quickly through the streets, the sky around then began to darken slowly as more and more clouds rolled in. Small bursts of lightning could be seen here and there in the sky. Putting everybody in even more of a rush. There were light sprinkles by the time they got to the small store. Nestled in between a small clothing store and down the street from a few businesses. The parking garage could till be seen from where they were, but was still a good jog or so away.

Aqua, Izuku, and Katsuki stayed near the front of the store under the awning while Inko ran inside real quick. It was clearly crowded in there and Inko didn't want to lose any of them. She had said that she knew where the candles were anyway, so she'd be quick. Izuku and Katsuki decided to pass the time by switching between rock-paper-scissors, and looking across the street to see a small comic shop advertising some new All Might comic that would be coming out some time next month.

Aqua stared at the sky as it started to grow darker, the rain was stopping. That was good, but for how long?

"I can't wait till I get my quirk." Izuku grinned, jumping from foot to foot. "I wonder what it'll be! I hope it'll be cool like yours Kacchan!"

Katsuki scoffed. "I doubt it'll be as cool as mine."

"Hey, be nice Katsuki. For all you know his quirk might be just as good as yours if not better. Don't put his hopes down." Aqua told him, lightly flicking his shoulder.

Izuku hummed to himself, taking in Aqua's words. He's always had that thought that his quirk might not be as flashy or as great as Kacchan's. But hearing Aqua say it could be just as great or better brought some kind of happiness to him. A kind of confidence he's never really had.

"But, uh..." Katsuki bit his lip, trying to come up with some kind of rebuttal for that. He wasn't sure how to word it, how he just _knew_ he was better than Deku. While he struggled to find the words neither him nor Aqua were aware of a large figure emerging from the alleyway nearby.

"Onee-chan?" Izuku asked, snapping out of his thoughts as the hunched over figure approached them, coming up behind Aqua.

At the same time Inko came from the store, putting something into her purse. "Well, it took a bit longer than I-Aqua!" Inko shouted, catching their attention.

Aqua quickly turned and saw a large fist flying right at her. She barely had time to summon a barrier and block the blow that sent her back a bit. She was able to regain her footing before she fell over. Katsuki was about to yell something at the figure before another fist flew towards him, he was snatched out of the way by Aqua who rushed forward. The fist had collided with the concrete ground. Leaving a deep indention of their fist where Katsuki had been a moment ago.

The four looked to where Katsuki was, then to the large hooded figure that stood there silently.

Aqua stepped forward to demand who the figure was. As she was about to open her mouth to speak, the ground began rumbling. Everything shook under the harsh vibrations of the earth, a moment later there were multiple loud explosions and shrill screams echoed down the street. People began to run away in various direction, trying to get away in any way possible.

People were stampeding through the streets, screaming and rushing to get away until various villains came from seemingly out of nowhere. blocking off the escape routes of the people. The villains had manic grins as they pointed weapons at the civilians. Whether they be guns, or their own quirks.

The villains began to bark orders at the people, demanding things from them.

That moment of distraction was all the strange figure needed to lash out at Aqua, knocking her back a bit and almost breaking a half formed barrier.

Inko, Izuku, and Katsuki screamed for her, seeing her manage to stay on her feet.

Inko turned to the figure, she kept the boys behind her as she backed up a bit.

"Who are you! What do you want?" She asked, still backing up until she realized they hit a wall. The figure had followed them, step for step, staring down at them.

The figure tilted their head for a moment, as if pondering the question. Trying to understand.

"Izuku, Katsuki, I want you to get Aqua and I need to three to run away." Inko muttered as the figure began to raise their arm, movements jerky as they reached for the boys.

The figure let out a muffled growl as they reached for the boys.

"Go!"

Izuku and Katsuki darted off, or tried to. Izuku was snatched by the back of his shirt and lifted up, he screamed. Katsuki turned aorund and raised his hands in self defense. Small sparks lit, but before they could escalate to anything that would be damaged he was grabbed as well.

"No!" Inko ran forward, about to strike the figure until there was a bright flash of light, and a sudden vision of blue. The arms of the figure suddenly fell off, they faded away into wisps of dark smoke as they hit the ground and the boys fell onto the hard concrete.

The hood fell off the figure, revealing a pitch black creature with bright yellow spheres for eyes. Strange antennae protruded from the top of it's head, reaching as far as it's feet. It's mouth looked like it was stitched shut, a thick rope like substance embedded it into its flesh.

The creature's head snapped to the person who had saved the boys, seeing a blue haired woman weilding a large key. Its eyes darted to the strange, otherworldly weapon that had actually managed to cause injury.

"Don't you _dare_ touch them." Aqua said, a low voice. Her grip tightened on the Keyblade as the creature slowly bagan to shake, twist, and writhe. The stumps where it's arms were slowly began to regrow, until large claws grew where there were once just hands. The creature's mouth began to twitch as the sewing was stretched. There was a loud snap as the strings broke off. It opened and closed it's mouth repeatedly, as if to test that new function.

Inko and the boys had only been able to watch in horror as the creature reformed itself after such an attack.

None of them were prepared for the creature to stare at Aqua for a moment, then let out an ear piercing shriek that rang out throughout the entire street that was being attacked. For some, that was the last thing they would ever hear, for others it was a grim sign that death was not too far.

Aqua covered her ears as the monster shrieked, the sound ringing loudly in her skull even after it died down. Behind it, Izuku was sobbing. Terrified. Katsuki was holding back tears, trying not to let his fear show. Inko was pale with a mixture of shock and fear.

Aqua's ears rang loudly as the beast flexed it's claws.

"L...Li.." It made an attempt to form words, before they devolved into feral growls and hisses.

Time stood still for a moment before Aqua raised her Keyblade and the air began to chill. The creature lept towards her at a speed she wasn't expecting, she yelled as she conjured a large wave of ice that slammed into the creature and barely slowed it down. She jumped out of the way at the creature flew past her, it slammed into a wall and gave her the small opening she needed to fire another wave of ice at it. The ice crept up from the torso of the creature to the wall, a temporary trap.

"O-Oneechan?" Izuku mumbled, tears running down his face.

"We have to go!" Aqua said, snapping Inko out of her daze. Inko quickly picked up Katsuki who was closest to her, and Aqua grabbed Izuku.

The ice began to crack as they ran away, sending a wave of panic through them.

Aqua looked around as she tried to keep calm, she had to get them to safety. She had to get them out of this place, she couldn't fight like this. She couldn't defend them and face whatever that thing was, not to mention there are villains all about and would probably attack them.

Worst of all, she wasn't sure where they could go. There were large pillars of fire and villains blocking a majority of the streets that would lead away from the area. She didn't have a Keyblade glider, so she couldn't fly them out of there. She couldn't create any kind of gateway to take them away. So the only option was to fight, and she was heavily out numbered.

While they were running a man was backed up against a wall, a man with needle-like fingers holding his hands near the man's throat, threatening to to spill his blood. Aqua spotted this, and held out her Keyblade, she grit her teeth as she managed to send a small wave of lightning towards them. It was weak enough that it would fade away by the time it reached the man, but strong enough to keep it persisting where the man was.

The man took the brunt of the lightning, yelling in pain as his body began to spasm violently. The man was free, and looked up to the running group of four.

"Go!" Aqua yelled, seeing the man run off.

While they ran Aqua did her best to shoot off spells to save as many people as she could. To save them from their corner of terror or give them the opening they needed to get away. Before she knew it, there was a large group of people following her, trusting her to help them. In all honesty it only added another layer of pressure she was already under.

She felt Izuku's grip tighten as she ran, she would look over her shoulder to make sure Inko was right behind her or at least within sight. After she would make sure that Inko is behind her she would look to see if more people were following behind her. Then another quick scan to see if the creature that attacked her was anywhere around. Much to her surprise, it was nowhere to be seen . Had she actually been able to take it down so easily?

No, that couldn't be right. Maybe it preferred to stay away from the bright fires and stick to it's shadows. If that was the case then she wouldn't be safe forever.

She looked ahead to see a street corner, from the looks of it there were no flames preventing them from running through.

"This way!" Aqua called out to them, quickly rounding the corner. As soon as she turned around the corner she was met with a violent wave of flames the had almost engulfed her and Izuku. Out if instinct she quickly pivoted around and wrapped both arms around Izuku as her back took the brunt of the hit. The smell of burnt flesh reached her nostrils as she screamed in pain.

She forced herself to stay on her feet, she looked up to see the terrified face of Inko and the others who had followed her.

"Well, well. Look at this, this really is my lucky day." A voice smugly announced, a strange kind of glee in his tone.

Aqua grit her teeth as she made herself stand tall, turned around to face an all too familiar face.

"Hisashi." She said, almost with a snarl.

From the smoke behind him a few more people appeared. Each of their faces decorated with a malicious expression. All of them taking some kind of sick joy in the chaos.

Izuku whimpered, he felt Aqua's arms wrap even tighter around him, but not enough to hurt him. He looked up to her through his tears and saw her stoic expression. Yet he saw her gritting her teeth, fighting through the pain.

"You already know what I want." He said, taking a step forward. Aqua had forced herself to stay in place, to not back down.

"You're not getting him!" Inko had run forward, placing Katsuki down next to Aqua who had immediately clung onto her. She stepped in front of Aqua, arms out protectively. "I won't let you! The heroes will be here soon, and you won't stand a chance."

Hisashi stared at her for a long minute before a laugh erupts from him.

"Inko, you really think that'd we'd be this reckless? Please, give me a bit more credit." He ran a hand through his hair. "It's rather bold of you to assume this is the only crisis in the city." He grinned.

"You..."

There was a loud scream from the back of the crowd as the villains from before had finally recovered and came by to terrorize them once again. People pushed against each other to try to get away, of course only to be cornered on the other side where there were more.

They were all cornered and had no where to go. The flames were blocking a way out, but even then there was a wave of villains blocking the way out.

Aqua bit her lip, her mind racing a million miles a minute. She could put out the flames, but she couldn't do that and fight off the villains, _and_ protect everybody. If she made a move towards Hisashi, going around or over him he'd surely take that chance and grab either Inko, Izuku, or Katsuki. Using them as leverage against her, not to mention the other villains that would surely attempt to stop her or make a move for the civilians.

What would Terra do?

What would Ven do?

What would Master Eraqus do?

Aqua drew in a deep breath before she looked up. She looked to the people behind her, seeing them looking around desperately. A few of them were even looking to her, begging for answers, for a way out.

She looked forward, seeing Inko's trembling back. She was yelling at Hisashi, trying to do anything to buy them all time. Soon it'd be too late, and further bloodshed would ensue.

Aqua cringed internally as she realized, she might not be able to save everybody. She might be only able to save very few of them, especially if she were to put out the flames. She wouldn't even be able to make a barrier large enough for them all, that would take almost everything she had.

She could probably stun the villains in front of her, but the ones far behind her would jump in the minute something happened. Could these people fight back? Could they bring themselves to fight for their lives if they must?

Aqua gently put Izuku down next to Katsuki, hearing a whimper of protest as he clung onto her shirt. She had been able to get him to let go with a few comforting words, and a promise she was determined to keep.

She slowly walked in front of Inko, surprising both the woman and the villains that stood at Hisashi's side.

"Inko." She spoke softly, turning her head to look at the woman. "I need you to get Izuku, Katsuki, and everybody else out of here. Okay?" She asked.

"Aqua what are you-"

"Can you do that for me?" Aqua asked.

Inko was silent for a moment before slowly nodding, stepping back a bit. She grabbed the boys hands and looked to the crowd that watched in both fear and confusion as the woman walked forward.

"She's going to get us out of here." Inko said, gripping the boy's hands tightly. As she spoke she heard Aqua speaking to Hisashi, an unrecognizeable, cold tone she'd never thought could come from her.

"When she puts out those flames, we're going to have to run! She'll only be able to hold them off and protect us for so long!"

The people began muttering, the sudden prospect of survival not so far away anymore.

They all heard the young woman speak as she summoned a strange weapon.

"Hisashi Midoriya, my name is Master Aqua. You will let these people go, or pay the price!" She shouted, undeterred by the laughter of the villains. One of them had started to appraoch her.

"Let me take care of this one boss, it's been a while since-"

The man didn't get to finish his sentence as he was consumed by hundreds of volts of raging lightning, he only screamed in pain as the large wave soon reached his friends. Only one of the villains had been able to get out of the way. A symphony of pained screams reached the crowd's ears as they saw her suddenly soar into the sky, dwindling light fading under feet.

 _If I can catch some of them in this, they'll have a clear shot!_

Aqua held out her Keyblade, feeling the air around her drop in temperature drastically as she built up the power she was putting into the attack. She yelled as she sent off the large wave of ice, watching it smother the towering flames and put them out. Steam rising as the only remains of the firey barricade.

Aqua looked to the shocked faces down below, seeing she even stunned the villains with that performance.

"Go!" She shouted. "Go!"

They all began to run, yelling and crying all the while. She saw Inko and the boys get out of the area, and smiled to herself.

It didn't last long as the villains in the back finally regained their composure and started chasing after the crowd. A few of them firing off their quirks and weapons.

Before she could think of which spell to use she suddenly found herself engulfed in hot, angry flames. She screamed in pain as she hit the ground, forming her barrier once she had been able to regain her senses amidst the pain. She found herself screaming in pain whenever she moved around. She had to heal herself, she had to put some distance between her and Hisashi. The minute he had finally run out of breath she took the chance and jumped back, before she could heal herself she heard a loud bang and a sudden pain buried itself in her shoulder.

She choked back tears and a scream and put up another barrier, hearing it deflect projectiles and attacks from the outside. She grit her teeth as she held it up, seeing a few villains heading towards the opening where the flames once were. Where everybody was running to.

Hot blood ran down her burnt skin, the stench of copper and burnt flesh made her nauseous. She needed to heal herself, but the attacks wouldn;t let up. She couldn't take a hit like she did last time, she had to stay alive.

Much to her dismay she saw a few small cracks begin to form on her barrier. She had to do something, she had to get out of there.

How?

What could she do?

She felt pathetic as even larger cracks begin to form. She needed a plan, she needed to do _something!_

She felt herself pale as barrier began to slowly dissolve. She didn't know what to do, her time was up.

If she broke it would it be enough to stun them all for a moment? Maybe, maybe not. She can't stay here she has to make a barricade! Stop the villains from leaving the area!

She grit her teeth as she shattered the barrier, sending what was left of it flying outward and striking a few of the assailants. She quickly iced the perimeter around her, freezing a few of them in place. She bit her lip as a layer of ice began to form on her skin. She felt cold, freezing.

She raised her blade to heal herself, conjuring up the spell that's saved her so many times.

It was as if time slowed for a moment. She had raised her blade up, focusing on healing herself when two villains broke out of the ice, and were heading straight towards her. She saw Hisashi smirk as he opened his mouth, dark smoke starting to pour out. The other villain's arms were stretching towards her, ready to wrap around and subue her.

She didn't have enough time to switch to a barrier. She was already using the healing spell, and in her current condition she wouldn't even be able to switch as quickly as she wanted to.

As the arms and flames were about to finally reach her, she heard a zoom. And a moment later she saw a figure dash past her and kick the living daylights out of the two villains. As soon as the two were falling he dashedto her side, sliding to a stop as she finished her healing. Most of her injuries were gone, all that was left were minor burns and the still aching shoulder.

"Are you alright? I'm sorry it took so long to get here, we weren't aware this area had been hit as well." The man asked, his voice had sounded familiar

"Yes, I'm fine." Aqua nodded, looking to where the recovering Hisashi was. A few of the other villains were finally freeing themselves. "What about the villains over there? At the opening in the street where the others escaped?" She asked.

"They've already been subdued. I can handle this, you should go! No other civillians should be here." He motioned for her to run, to get out of there.

She shook her head. "No way, you'd be left alone here with all these villains. Not to mention..." She saw Hisashi slowly getting to his feet, a monsterous scowl on his face.

"I have some business to settle."

"You're a civillian! You shouldn't be here, I understand you may think you're capable but you are not permitted to fight villains."

"You heroes..." Hisashi growled, twitching violently. "Are such a pain in the ass..."

The two turned to him, watching him. They watched as his face twisted into what had looked like a grimace of pain and effort. Like he was attempting to hold something back, but also having to urge to let it go.

"And that's why..." He suddenly straightened up, and froze. Still for a moment before turning a glare towards the two. "You have to die."

"What are-"

The hero didn't get to finish what he was about to say before the entire area was engulfed by flames that came from Hisashi.

Aqua had reacted fast enough to throw herself in front of him and create another barrier.

"I thought he could only breathe fire!" The man said as Aqua broke the barrier, and pushed back against the flames with a flurry of ice. They had canceled each other out, and steam obscured their vision as it rose.

"So did I, is it possible for someone to have more than quirk?" Aqua asked as she looked around, if Hisashi was going to use fire then she'd be able to see those flames for sure. She slowly backed up, not wanting to be too close to another wave of fire, and wanting to close off the area.

"No, it's not." He answered, looking around. Other than their talking it was quiet, rather unsettling to them. After a moment he spoke again. "You have to get out of here, as I said before this is no place for a civillian."

"And I told you, I'm not going anywhere." She argued, looking around. She knew where the opening to the other street was, she just had to get there. That was most important at the moment.

"Where is he?" Aqua heard the man mutter softly. The two were on edge, ready to strike at anything.

"Listen, when he comes by I need you to distract him." She said after a moment, after she heard a cackle from somewhere in the thick steam.

"Did you finally come to your senses and agree to get out of here?"

"No, theres an opening to the next street where the other civillians ran to get away. I need to close it off, just to make sure he doesn't go through there."

The man chuckled a bit before sighing. "There is no talking sense into you is there?"

She felt herself smile. "None at all."

A second later the area was lit up by another wave of flames encircling Hisashi as he sent them towards the two. The air grew thick and hot, almost hard to breathe in as the flames went everywhere.

"Go!" He yelled as he ran towards Hisashi, doing as she asked and distracting him. Hisashi had immediately turned to him and began flinging fire at him, his aim was erratic and off.

Aqua dashed off as soon as the hero had gone off towards Hisashi. She would look over her shoulder every time she heard a loud yell, not always sure if it cae from Hisashi or the hero. She made it to the opening with good time, she quickly plunged her blade into the ground, gritting her teeth as the air around her dropped in temperature quickly. She drew on a lot of her magic energy and watched a thick wall of ice close off the street.

As soon as she finally finished she weakly stood up. Her body felt stiff as a layer of ice began to form on her skin. She was even shivering a bit. She mentally cursed, she hadn't quite expected the backlash of using ice magic to hit her so quickly. She would warm herself up, but at the moment she couldn't spare any energy. She needed to be able to fight.

She turned around to heard towards the fight until she heard a yell of pain and the hero was sent flying towards her. He slammed into the newly formed wall of ice and groaned as he fell to the ground.

She pulled her Keyblade from the ground and quickly made her way over to him.

"I'm alright." He said with a cough. "I don't think he is though." He muttered. She looked to where the flames were, watching them spiraling put of control as the man in the center of it all was let out inhuman screams.

"He's killing himself..." She said with realization.

"I think his quirk or _quirks_ , whatever it is, is taking a serious toll on him. Almost like his body hasn't adjusted to it." He said, standing up.

Aqua may have just met Hizashi a while ago, and she already had this resentment towards him. But not so much that she wanted him dead.

"We have to stop him before he ends up dying, he may be a villain but nobody deserves to burn to death."

She tightened her grip on her weapon as she nodded. "I'll use my ice to cancel out his flames." She said.

"And I'll take care of the rest." He nodded. As soon as he said that Aqua was off, sprinting towards the tornado of flames. As she drew closer and closer she felt some of the ice on her skin melt. At least the fire would take care of most of her current backlash. She knew she needed that window of damage she could take before she unleashed a large spell of ice just to cancel out the flames.

She steeled her nerves and braced herself as she threw herself into the torrent of flames. She had to take it all out in one go if she was going to give the hero the opening he needed. It might stun Hisashi long enough before he lets off any more flames.

She made herself keep running as the heat grew more and more intense until she figured she was far enough into it. She felt blisters beginning to form on her skin, she grit her teeth and repeatedly told herself she could take it, she could handle it. As soon as this passed she'd heal herself. Then she could get back to Izuku, Katsuki, and Inko.

She gathered as much energy as she could, shaping it to her will. She felt the heat around slowly dwindle down as ice ran up her arms and covered Keyblade. She yelled as she once again plunged the Keyblade into the ground, but instead of creating a large barrier she instead created her own tornado of frost and ice. She kept it going as she heard the hiss of fire and ice colliding violently and canceling each other out. She felt the heat pick up again and she let off another surge of her own blizzard.

By the time both fire and ice died down she heard the labored breathing of the man who had orchestrated the attack. She looked up weakly as she heard a shuffling noise make its way toward her. She saw a man, covered in burns. Taking in desperate, shallow breaths. His eyes were wild, it was clear something inside of him was broken.

She felt herself feeling some kind of pity for the man, but she didn't let it show as she stood up, using the Keyblade as support. She swayed a bit.

"Hisashi..." She muttered.

He muttered something, repeatedly before he shot a glare at her. He opened his mouth and was about to spew fire at him until he received a hard kick to the gut and fell over. e only struggled for a moment before finally going limp and passing out.

Aqua took a shivering breath as she leaned on her weapon. Ice covered her arms, and some of her face. She even felt the freezing cold on her legs, she was going to take a while to recover from that. She could practically hear Master Eraqus scolding her from the afterlife.

"The villain has been subdued." The man sighs before looking to her. "Are you alright? You're shaking." He reached out a hand, ready to catch her if needed. It looked like she was ready to collapse at any time.

"I'll be fine." She smiled, before reaching out a trembling hand. "I don't think we've really introduced ourselves yet. My name is Aqua."

He watched her for a moment, and she swore she could see a smile as he shook her hand. "Hero in training, Ingenium."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, hero in training Ingenium." She laughed. They had a small bout of tired laughter before looking out to the mess from the villains attack.

"What a mess." Aqua muttered.

"Yeah, but the pros should be here soon. They'll round up all the villains and everything wil be sorted out. And maybe I can give you a pass for going against the orders of a hero, especially since the orders were given for your own safety."

"I don't think I'm supposed to take orders from you." She hummed, weakly shoving him.

"Says who?"

"Says me."

They chuckled softly to themselves before a faint noise was heard in the distance. They immediately quieted themselves down and look ahead. It was coming from where Aqua and the large group of civillians had initially come from.

Most of the steam had cleared out, giving them an almost unobsured view of the street corner. The noise was slowly getting louder adn louder. It took a moment, but the two realized it sounded like frantic crying. There was another noise, slightly louder than the crying. Growling.

The two readied themselves, both were ready to dash towards the threat whatever it may be. A moment later the crying grew even louder and a small figure rounded the corner.

"A child?!"

The child ran as fast as he could, he looked ahead to see the two adults up ahead. He opened his mouth to yell something, but only a scared yell came out when he heard the crash of something behind him. The monster had finally caught up to him.

He dared a glance over his shoulder to see the large creature was right behind him. Bright yellow orbs bore into him. Blood-stained black claws and even more blood splattered on it's torso. It's mouth opened in what looked like a large grin.

He yelled again before turning his head to look forward again, only to crash into a pole and fall over in a daze. The little boy cried as he held his aching head, too stunned to get up. He looked up to see the monster right above him, about to grab him until he saw one of the people he saw kick the monster surprising it for a moment. All of a sudden the little boy was picked up by the other adult. His red eyes caught her blue ones, her gaze on the monster that had been chasing him.

The monster took a step back as the man quickly made his way over to the other two.

"That thing is back..." Aqua muttered, holding the boy tightly in her trembling arms.

"A friend of yours?"

The black haired boy looked up as the woman nodded.

Ingenium stepped in front of Aqua. "You need to get out of here, with the current state you're in you can't fight very well. Not to mention, someone has to get him out of here!" He said, mentioning the child.

"You can't beat that thing, even if you take off one of it's arms it'll just grow back. You can't take that thing out in one go." She argued, shifting the child to hold him in one arm as she summoned her Keyblade again.

"And you can?" He asked in an incredulous manner.

"I can buy you two time, and you're faster than me." She said, narrowing her eyes as the creature's eyes slowly drew to her, eyeing her weapon. She tried to hand the child off to Ingenium, only to feel him grip on to her tighter.

Before the hero could argue any more the creature threw it's head back and let out an ear piercing scream into the air once more. It rang around the area, absolute torture to the three closest to it. The sounds of glass shattering was heard through the street, but muffled over the loud screeching.

It felt like it had gone on forever, and the sound lingered in their mind, bouncing around in their still ringing ears. They were deaf to the world for a moment or two before the creature sprang into action. Leaping towards Aqua and the boy.

She narrowly dodged the outstretched claw and fell to the ground, she hurried to her feet as quickly as she could. She was still weak, her body stiff and cold. She was still suffering the effects of her powerful ice attacks. She could practically hear Eraqus's lecturing her.

"Aqua!" Ingenium dashed towards the creature and leaped, swinging his leg in a wide arc. Before his attack could land he was swatted away like a meaningless gnat. He yelled as he crashed into various items lying around on the street.

The creature twitched a bit then jerked its head towards Aqua and the frightened child.

The boy whimpered and shrunk away from the piercing eyes of the creature.

Aqua braced herself, making sure she had a tight grip on the child. She didn't want to fight with a child in her arms, but she didn't have a choice. He was scared, and probably wouldn't cover enough ground to make the creature lose immediate interest. If she ran with him, it'd follow. And it was _fast_ , it would catch them before they could even make it to the ice wall. She just had to stun it long enough to give them time.

To get the boy to Ingenium so they could get out of there.

The woman and the beast held each other's gaze for what felt like forever, until leapt out towards her. She dodged to the side and swing her Keyblade down, feeling it cut through the thick shadows that made up it's body. Wisps of dark smoke came from the wound before the wound closed.

The monster made the first move, moving forward quickly and almost landing a good hit on Aqua. She had barely dodged fast enough, she felt a bit of blood run down her arm where one of the claws managed to get her. She quickly shot a rather pathetic bolt of lightning towards the monster. The bolt hit the creature head on and did nothing to stop it, the eletricity only sparking on the surface of the skin before fading away.

She frowned as the creature turned quickly and roared, displeased with missing her once more. It didn't even wait to finish it's roar of anger, screaming while it rushed at her again. It surprised her, and she knew she wouldn't be able to move fast enough. She half put down, half threw the child away from her before she was slammed to the ground. She coughed in pain, a heavy weight on her, almost crushing her bones.

She heard the child scream something, hard to hear over the roaring in her ears. How hard had that thing hit her? She felt dizzy, the edges of her vision were blurry. This was bad, she was too weak from the previous fight. She only had so much energy left to use magic.

She looked up to see the creature staring her down, both clawed hands digging into her flesh and focusing on squeezing the life out of her. She grit her teeth as she clawed at the arms, her Keyblade having been knocked away. Even if she had it she didn't have the space to swing it or let off another spell without hurting herself.

It groaned something as it squeezed harder, she let out a gasp of pain as she tried to draw in oxygen. Finding it harder and harder, she even found it difficult to stay awake, drowsiness hanging heavy on her. Her struggling grew weaker and weaker as she started going deaf to the world.

She heard a loud scream before something struck the creature. She turned her head slihtly, eyes widening as she saw the child striking at it repeatedly. His hands hard and rock like.

She saw the creature slowly look towards him, it's gaze failing to scare the child as he screamed at it to let her go.

Aqua grit her teeth as she quickly raised her hands, they were aimed at the torso of the beast. She narrowed her eyes as she dipped into whatever power she had left, drawing out as much as she could. By the time she gained it's attention of a loud yell, large, thick spikes of ice protruded through the beast. Thick ice covered her arms and face, as well as the hands that had been choking her.

The child was stunned for a moment before hitting the creature again as Aqua manged to pry the frozen claws off. She gasped for air as the creature twitched and jerked around.

"M-Miss, your..." The boy pointed to her neck, she shook her head. She could already feel the bruises forming, but that wasn't what she was worried about right now. She looked around, spotting her Keyblade.

"Come on." She said, quickly scooping up the child again as she slowly ran over to her weapon. She watched the creature's body slowly reform and heard the loud shattering of her ice.

"That didn't..."

"We have to go." She said with a hoarse voice, starting to make her way towards where Ingenium had been knocked away. Up ahead she a him getting to his feet, his helmet was broken, some of his face visible. He looked painfully familiar, but Aqua didn't have the energy to look back at the moment.

As they ran Aqua looked down at the child who kept wide, red eyes on the creature. He shook from fear, seeing what that thing had almost done to Aqua. If he hadn't mustered up the courage when he did to save her, he may have been next.

"Hey." She murmured softly, getting his attention. "Thank you for saving me, that was really brave of you."

He looked at her for a moment before shaking his head and rubbing at his eyes. "I was scared..." He whimpered.

"It's okay to be scared, even when you're a hero." She smiled, hearing the boy sniffle a bit.

They finally made it to Ingenium, he leaned against a lamp post before standing up straight and making his way over to the two running towards him. He looked a bit dizzy, but managed to keep his coordination and stay on his feet.

"What happened?" He asked as he closed short the distance between them. "Aqua your-"

"I'm fine, we have to get out of here. I don't know how long that thing is going to stay like that. But I do think I might have made a dent in it." She said as they started making their way to the wall of ice. It had begun to melt, weakening over time.

"What do you mean?" Ingenium asked, looking over his shoulder again and again. A spike of panic rising in him, seeing the creature slowly standing up. Altjough it's movements seemed a bit slower than last time, it wasn't as twitchy, and the body looked a bit more frail; less dense than when he last saw it.

"I think if it takes too much damage it can't regenerate as well as it initially could." She says, looking up ahead.

"So we don't have to take it out in one go?"

"I think at this point, the possibility is a lot better than it was before. But I don't think either of us have enough strength to do that. I think it's better if we whittle it down." She nodded.

"Correction. It's better if _I_ , whittle it down. Look at yourself Aqua, you're weak and you're still suffering the from effects of your quirk."

"Ingenium, we literally _just_ had this argument." She said, a slight smile on her face.

"True, but that was then, and this is now. And a few new things have come to light, not to mention the heroes should be here soon. Why is it taking them so long?" He muttered the last part to himself. He would have radioed them, but the part of his helmet that had his communicator was broken.

The smile on her face faded as soon as they heard the boy yell.

"The monster!" He screamed.

They looked behind them and saw the creature racing towards them, it was slower. Aqua quickly put her free arm up, pain racing through her for a moment as she made a barrier as fast as she could. Neither of them were expecting the the recoil of the barrier shattering to send them flying through the ice wall. Nor were they expecting the wall to be as weak as it was.

Ingenium had used his body to shield Aqua and the boy from the impact as best he could. It felt like time had gone still as they tumbled down the street, ice falling around them until they finally rolled to a stop.

"You two okay?" He asked, slowly sitting up.

Aqua said nothing as the boy groaned, looking at the bluenette. He shook her arm for a moment before whimpering.

"Wake up...wake up! Miss, please wake up!"

"I think she may have hit her limit." The young man said as he sat her up to look over her. There was a layer of ice over the majority of her body, and wherever there wasn't ice there were scratches, bruises, and a few burns. He didn't doubt for a minute she had more injuries under all the ice. She wasn't moving, save for her shivering and breathing.

The boy gasped as he heard the loud, stomping footsteps to the monster.

Ingenium looked up, then looked to the boy. "Kid, what's your name?" He asked.

The boy didn't answer at first, staring down the street. The creature getting closer, and closer.

"Kid!"

The boy flinched before turning to the hero, still clinging onto Aqua's arm.

"K-Kirishima Eijirou..." He answered hesitantly.

"Kirishima, head down this road. There should be an evacuation area somewhere up ahead, and there should be heroes there too. Run, run as fast as you can and tell them we need help here. Hero in training Ingenium is down here with an unconscious civilian." Ingenium said, eyes darting from the boy to the monster.

"I'm..."

"I'm counting on you Kirishima." He said, a firm reassurance in his voice.

The boy looked at the hero for a moment before wiping away a few tears, nodding.

"I'm going to get help, I won't let you down!" He says before running. He forced himself to not look back as he ran down the road, hoping he could get help in time as he heard a loud growl echo through the street.

 **-LotF-**

Izuku and Katsuki stood at the edge of the emergency evacuation area, staring down the street. The youngest of the two clung onto the older one.

"Izuku, Katsuki. Come here, what on earth are you two doing?" Inko asks as walks over to the two. She knelt down next to them and looked at them, looking to the direction they were staring after a moment.

"Onee-chan isn't back yet. S-She's okay right?" Izuku asked aloud, lip trembling. What if she was hurt? What if she needed help? She was all alone when they ran away! Who knows what's happened to her!

"Of course she's okay! She's super strong, as if Sis would get taken down by those stupid villains." Katsuki yelled at his friend.

Inko saw right through him though, bringing the two into a hug.

"She's going to be okay...Aqua is a lot stronger than you think. She'll be here soon." Inko said softly before standing up. "Now come over here, I don't want you two to be where I can't see you." Inko took their hands and lightly tugged them before a man called to her.

"Ms. Midoriya, how well can you wrap head injuries?" He asked, supporting a dazed teenager.

"I'm not the best at it, but I can do it." She said. She turned to the two children quickly. "You see that area over there where the other kids are? I need you two to go over there and stay together. I'll find you as soon as I can."

Izuku nodded and Katsuki shrugged.

They were all understaffed, the few heroes that were there were either treating wounds, or being called to help out in another area. Any civillian who could do first aid was called upon and asked for help.

The two watched Inko hurry over to the boy, looking worried, nervous even. As if the simplest mistake could cost him his life.

"Come on Kacchan, we should go over there." Izuku started to walk forward, tugging on his friend's sleeve before he was stopped.

"Hold on..." Katsuki muttered, looking back down the road.

"What is..." Izuku trailed off when he heard it. The color drained from his face as the loud screeching that deafened the first time they heard it. "The monster is back!" He said, panic in his voice. No wonder his sister wasn't back yet, the monster came back, and she was probably fighting it off too.

"No way..." Katsuki muttered, his heart beating faster with the mere thought of that thing being remotely close to them. His eye twitched as he looked to his friend, seeing his head bowed down and hands gripping the hem of his shirt. He was trembling, as tears raced down his face.

Katsuki was about to chastise his friend for crying again, until he suddenly took off. Running down the street like his life depended on it.

"What the- What the hell Deku!" He yelled as he raced after him, catching up to him in no time. He easily kept pace with the greenette.

"She's in trouble!" Izuku cried as he tried to run faster, something in him was screaming that he has to get to her. That he has to protect her!

"What the heck are you even gonna do Deku! You don't have a quirk, and even if you did I bet it'd be useless against that thing!"

Izuku shook his head as he ran faster. He didn't care, all that mattered was getting to his sister.

The two kept running as fast as they could, ignoring the burning in their lungs. Soon Katsuki felt it too, something was wrong. Aqua was in trouble, and he'd be damned if he was going to let a monster hurt his sister.

They ran down the empty street passing abandoned cars and empty alleyways. The two kept their eyes trained on the path ahead, trying to see past the great distance and look for any sign of a fight. Any sign of Aqua.

Before long, they ran into another child, about their age. Katsuki and him ran into each other and fell over, halting their progress.

"Ow, watch where you're going you jerk!" Katsuki yelled as he got to his feet, he saw Izuku waiting for him; but also looking over the black haired boy.

"I'm sorry!" He quickly apologized before getting to his feet. Katsuki scoffed and glared at the kid. "Where the heck are you going? He asked.

"Ingenium told me to find other heroes! He's all alone over there, a-and the lady over there isn't waking up!"

The two boys froze when they heard this.

"W-What?" Izuku whimpered.

"She's not waking up. Ingenium said something about her hitting her limit..that monster beat her up pretty bad..." He trailed off, his hands grazing over his neck where he saw the bruises on her form.

Izuku and Katsuki gulped.

"What does she look like?" Izuku asked, biting his lip. Afraid of the answer he already knew.

"Blue hair, and blue eyes. She's really strong and-wait!"

Izuku took off as fast as he could, surprising Katsuki and the other boy for a moment before the blond suddenly took off after his friend.

"Deku what the hell!"

The boy, Eijirou, wanted to yell at them to stop, to run away. To follow him to the safety of the heroes...but he knew they wouldn't listen. They were crazy enough to leave that place so what on earth would make them go back?

He looked back and forth, he wanted to try and lead those two away and run to the evacuation center. But if he did that he would lose time, and who knew how long Ingenium could hold off that thing?

Hell, he was wasting time right now!

While the boy was left contemplating his decisions, the other two kept running towards the darkness of the street.

They heard the sound of fighting soon, the sound of a man yelling and taunting some kind of creature. Trying to keep it away from the unconcious woman lying next to a car. As soon as they saw the creature the two nearly froze in their tracks. Almost falling over each other as the creature locked eyes on them.

Now that they were there, they honestly had no idea what they could do now. The man had regained the creature's attention with a swift, powerful kick to its head. It growled and began to swipe at him, jumping and striking at him. Each time nearly hitting its mark.

"What the heck are we supposed to do now Deku?" Katsuki asked as he watched the creature, watching its repeated attempts to pin the man down and tear him to pieces

Izuku's mind spun as he looked between the monster and his sister. Clearly the monster saw them, and knew of their presence. But the man didn't know about them, and was keeping the monster at bay. He could see his sister from where they stood, his blood running cold when he saw the state she was in.

Get her out.

Get out of there and get help.

"We have to get Onee-chan..." Izuku muttered, eyeing the monster. There was enough distance for them to get to her, but how were they going to get her out of there? They're children, and she's an adult. There's no way they could drag her away fast enough.

Katsuki thought about this problem before the little greenette could come up with a solution.

"How are we supposed to do that?"

"I-I don't know!"

Katsuki looked at him and scoffed after a moment, running towards the body of the young woman, the other boy following soon after.

She was cold, which startled them at first.

"O-Onee-chan! Wake up, wake up!" Izuku shook her lightly, tears welling up.

"Come on sis, we gotta get out of here!" Katsuki yelled, pulling on her arm.

The only response they got out of her was a weak groan, the hand holding her weapon twitched a bit. Izuku glanced over it curiously, finding it strange. He quickly snapped back into focus and looked back to his sister.

"Come on! Wake up sis!"

"Onee-chan please wake up!"

She wasn't speaking to them, the only sign of response was her facial expression of pain and confusion; like she was trying to wake up. The monster sounded like it was getting closer., and the hero sounded like he was getting tired.

The two were panicking, not sure what to do.

Izuku tugged on her arm, trying to pull her away from there. He was soon assisted by Katsuki.

They didn't even move an inch when there was a loud crash that came from a few feet away from them. There was a pained moan from the man that had been sent flying into a car. The alarm blaring, and only making the ache in his head worse.

Izuku watched, horrided as the monster growled something incomprehensible and began to reach for him.

Katsuki had done what came to his mind first, running at the monster and letting off explosions. Trying to make them as powerful and painful as possible.

"Get away from him!" He yelled, his little explosions doing nothing against the monster. It would deal with the pesky hero first then move on to the new little pest.

Izuku ran forward, not knowing what he was going to do to distract the monster. As soon as he next to Katsuki they heard a voice scream at them.

"Both of you get down!" They looked back and saw Aqua sitting up, using that vehicle next to her for support. Her weapon was pointed in their direction, but not necessarily at them. They did as they were told and quickly dropped to the gound, they looked up and saw a bright light coming from Aqua's weapon. It shot out, and istead of hitting the monster it instead flew to the dazed hero. The light sat there for a moment before suddenly expanding into a large clear sphere and blocked the creature's hand from roughly grabbing the man.

It looked confused for a moment before the clear shield blinked for a moment, then shattered loudly. The glass like shards crashing and digging into the monster, making it reel back for a moment. It growled and turned it's head towards it's assailant.

"What are you two doing here?" Aqua said, her voice hoarse, and harsh. "Where is Inko!"

"We were worried about you! Y-You weren't coming back a-and-"

Izuku made to it his feet and froze when he heard the garbled words of the monster again.

Aqua managed to get to her feet, and slowly stepped in front of the boys.

"You t-two shouldn't have come here...i-its not safe..." She was shivering, her grip slowly getting weaker and weaker on her weapon. She was willing to fight until her last breath, just to keep them safe.

"That's why we came to get you!" Katsuki yelled.

"Go back." She said simply, bracing herself. She couldn't fight, she knew she wouldn't be able to hold her ground for long. But if she could give these two enough time to get out then she'd perfectly fine with that.

"No! We came to get you, we're not going to leave without you!" Izuku insisted, flinching at the sound of the stomping footsteps.

Where were the heroes? Why weren't they here yet?!

"Y-You have to get out of here." Aqua said weakly, her vision starting to go dark. She swayed for a moment unable to fous on the monster before she felt herself drop to the ground.

"Onee-chan!"

"Sis!"

They quickly ran over beside her, trying to help her up while the monster stared them down. As if it was deciding on who to to pick off first.

The woman who could wield light, or the children with the radiant light in their hearts.

"Izuku, Katsuki. Get out of here." She growled, struggling with her body. She was trying to get up, but her body refused to obey.

"No, we can't leave you!"

"We're not leaving you sis!"

They all paled when the beast started walking towards them. They were running out of time, almost no options left.

Izuku looked around, the hero had slipped into unconsciousness shortly after the shield shattered. Katsuki had his hands clenched tightly, smoke rising from his fisted hands. He was scared, it was clear to see, despite the brave face he was trying to put on. Izuku looked around before his eyes landed on Aqua's weapon, he gulped down his fear and ran to her side. He took the weapon from her weak grasp and ran to stand in front of her.

He held up the weapon as best as he could, it felt heavy but warm in his hands. Katsuki quickly ran over and stood next to the quivering boy, his hands up and ready to set off his explosions.

"Izuku...Katsuki, no!" Aqua yelled, her voice weak and almost unheard to the boys.

Izuku shuddered as he felt a strange power well up inside of him, it bloomed from his chest and slowly settled over his entire body. The weapon in his hands was still heavy, hard to hold up, but there was a certain kind of weightlessness to it he couldn't describe.

He felt a strange kind of certainty with that weapon in his hands. Like it was telling him everything was going to be okay.

"You...You stay away from us! I won't let you hurt Onee-chan or Kacchan! I won't let you hurt anyone, anymore!" He screamed.

Katsuki bit back the urge to say he didn't need protecting, instead deciding to taunt the monster. "As if we'd let you get past us!"

The beast growled as it set its eyes on Izuku, feeling the precious light it craved come off the boy in waves. Him, it decided it wanted him. It began to walk towards them with more purpose, its gaze fixated on the little greenette. It began to move faster and faster, letting out alow guttural screech of thrill as it raced towards them.

Izuku forced himself not to move as he saw the monser race towards him, watching it, and waiting. He would hit it, even if it was just one flimsy strike he would protect his sister.

As they watched the monster grace towards them, neither of them noticed the soft green glow that wrapped around the blade, nor the healing light that covered Aqua. None of them saw her minor injuries beginning to heal themselves.

Before either of them knew it the monster was upon them, fist raised to strike the two. Katsuki yelled as he set off the biggest explosion he could, the monster didn't even flinch. Izuku yelled as he started to swing the weapon, suddenly feeling weak; and all the power he felt was suddenly gone.

Before the weapon could even hit the creature, it suddenly vanished from his grasp, disappearing into a bright light. It reappeared in someone else's hands and came down on the beast with brute force. It's arm was suddenly severed off, and it wailed in pain. It looked to it's assailant, and let out an howl of anger. It was quickly silenced when a .wave of ice impaled it.

The two looked up and saw Aqua, standing before them and the beast. A soft glow around her body, a soft pink. They could feel pure energy radiating off of her.

"O-Onee-ch..." Izuku fell over before he could say anything, hitting the hard street.

"Deku!"

"Katsuki get back!" Aqua yelled as she sent a surge of lighting towards the creature. She made sure to spare enough energy for other spells.

"S-Sis how did you..."

"I got my second wind." Aqua said simply. She looked to the side and saw Ingenium starting to get up. While beast convulsed violently, trying to fight through the painful electricity, Aqua turned to the boys, she put a hand on Izuku's head. She could feel the lack of power in him, she had actually felt all the power he had radiated for the short time. She smiled softly and ran a hand through his curls.

"Thank you Izuku." She murmured.

"H-Huh?" Izuku asked, as she helped sat him up. He looked pale and dazed.

Even Katsuki was confused, but didn't have time to really question it when he suddenly had Deku leaning on him. Aqua helped him up and handed him off to Katsuki.

"Izuku, Katsuki, you did good. But you need to get out of here now." She said, looking at the two. She didn't look as rough anymore, but still had a few of thise burns and bruises. She was still rather cold to the touch, but she didn't seem as exhausted and drained as she was before.

"But Sis..."

There was a loud screech of anger and irritation from the monster, it was beginning to lose it's patience. Aqua turned to the monster as it suddenly rushed towards them, loud footsteps crashing into and making dents in the asphalt. It reached out it's claws to grab at her, and as she was about to set off another wave of ice the beast received a harsh kick to the face and was sent off course by a bit. It crashed into another car, the vehicle was crushed under it's weight.

"When did children get here?" Ingenium asked in alarm as he quickly made his way over to them.

"These little troublemakers were worried about me." Aqua said as she nodded at the boys. It was time for them to get out, they looked at her for a moment before starting to back away. They saw something in her eyes, it wasn't anger it was fiery determination, the kind one should fear. She was going to finish this fight, and they would be in her way. But something about that look in her eyes was terrifying.

"The heroes aren't here." Ingenium muttered as he wiped his brow of blood. "Kirishima should have made it over there by now."

"Either way," Aqua shook her head. "It looks like we're going to have to finish this"

"You think you have it in you?" He grinned.

"I don't know, do you?" She smied back, looking up when they heard the groaning of metal and the irritated growls of the beast. It's arm was slowly regenerating in wisps of smoke. The elbow are barely even there.

"L..Lig.." It gurgled out, looking at the two hungrily. It gave up speaking as it darted over to them, tearing up the street in its anger.

As it was upon them, Ingenium saw Aqua point her weapon to it and send off a flurry of ice. With it momentarily blinded, he saw her dart to its side and watched in a moment of awe. Whatever power she managed to conjure up, was debilitating to it. He watched as she maneuvered her weapon without even touching it, it seemed to fly from her hands and strike the creature as she wished. One moment it was flying from her hands, and the next it was back in her grasp as she sent an orb of power flying towards it.

The creature swatted at her, and managed to catch her last minute, sending her tumbling next to her comrade.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"I am, but are you just going to sit here all day? I can't do this on my own." She said as she got up.

"Are you sure? Because it looked like you were able to handle it by yourself pretty well."

She grinned as she dodged the attack that sent a car flying into a building, Glass shattered and metal folded into itself.

"Its getting desperate." He noted, looking over it. The arm wasn't regenerating anymore, it's body looked like it was on the brink of collapse.

She nods. "I think I can finish it, or maybe weaken it enough for you to take it out." She said, grunting as she sent another wave of ice towards the creature. The spikes digging into the shadowy mass.

"I just have to keep hitting it, and let my power build up until a certain point. From there, I think it should be on its last legs. And you should be able to take care of the rest." She said.

"You think you can manage that?" Ingenium asked.

She nodded, and they were off.

The boys ended up stopping after a moment, far enough to be out of range of the flying debris, but not too far to not be able to see the two heroes. They watched flashes of blue and white dash around and strike the monster repeatedly.

Waves of ice and fire and lightning lit up the air, while the sound of solid armor crashing and cutting into into the solid beast echoed up and down the street.

"Woah..." Izuku muttered softly, standing up a little bit straighter. He was hypnotized by the graceful dance of his sister, and the brutal, precise movements of the hero. A magnificent duo, thry weaved and artfully dodged and counter attacked whenever they were given the chance. From where they stood they could feel a strange, almost overwhleming energy radiating off of one of them.

"Kacchan...we gotta leave." Izuku said softly, unable to tear his eyes from the fight.

"Yeah." He muttered, not moving an inch.

"Ingenium!" Aqua yelled, the glow around her body burning brilliantly now.

He took that as a cue and got out of the way, watching her. As she ran, he readied himself, building up power in his engines. He was probably going to mess up his legs with this, but it was a risk he was willing to take.

Aqua activated the old technique she's grown so familiar with. Small flurries of ice surrounded her in spirals as she spun, the cold magic biting and piercing into the beast as it writhed in pain, letting out another agonizing wail of pain. It was blown back a bit as she broke her spin, the ice surrounding her in an outspread wave that faded out soon after.

"Aqua!" Ingenium yelled.

Without hesitation she jumped back, narrowly dodging a claw. She looked over to him, and saw him speeding over, flames coming from the engines in his legs. In a split second decision she aimed a spell at the creature's feet, freezing it in place, the ice crept up its body until it reached the creature's waist.

"Recipro Burst!"

The creature didn't even get the chance to break free before a loud crack was heard, Ingenium's leg colliding with the beast's head. It sounded like something broke, a bit unsettling. It's head flew back, reacting violently to the sudden, powerful kick. When it looked up, half of its face was missing. Small trails of darkness coming from the new wound.

"Ingenium move!" Aqua yelled, rushing forward. One more, she just needed one more big hit.

He did as he was told, seeing yellow sparks coming from her body. He quickly backed up, watching her stop in front of the monster. She suddenly brought up her weapon, pointed it to the sky. She grit her teeth, putting everything she had into her last attack.

"Thundaga!" She screamed, before a violent burst of lightning came ripping out of the sky. It came down in a flash and struck the beast head on. There was a loud, peircing screech as the lightning raged on and on, lighting up the street before both finally came to a sudden stop.

Aqua was panting, feeling sparks of lightning race through her body.

She would have fallen over if Ingenium hadn't rushed over and kept her upright. He slowly walked her a few feet away from the shadowy, smoldering corpse that lay decaying in the middle of the street.

"You okay?" He asked, concerned.

She chuckled before taking another shaky step. "Tired, I used up everything I had left." She admitted.

"Sure looks like it."

"Shut up." She muttered.

They looked up when they suddenly heard cheering from down the street. There they saw two children jumping up and down excitedly.

"They did it!"

"I told you they would! Sis is freaking amazing!"

"I can't believe they stayed...even though I told them to leave." She huffed, watching them start to make their way towards the two. She could already tell Izuku was crying, and Katsuki was probably on the verge of tears if anything.

As the boys were running to the two adults, neither of them noticed the twitching remains. Aqua smiled as she took a step forward, planning to meet the boys halfway until there was a loud, guttural croak. Her eyes darted to the creature as it forced itself upright. Letting out one last ear splitting scream before suddenly surging forawrd; leaving dark, dissipating pools of shaodws as it rushed to the boys.

"Izuku! Katsuki! Get out of there!" She screamed, she tried to run forward; only for her legs to fail her. Ingenium tried to run to catch up to it, to tackle it; stop it somehow but his engines stalled.

Izuku shuddered violently as heard the scraea, watching the foul, terrifying thing rush at them. He did the first thing that came to mind, and grabbed Katsuki and pushed him out of the way. Before he knew it, the large claws were right in front of him, about to grab him; and tear him apart.

As the claws were about to wrap around him, a flash of red, blue, and white came out of nowhere and crashed into the beast. Slamming into the concrete, and turning up large clouds of dust.

"There is no need to fear. I am here!" A loud voice boomed.

The dust started to clear, and there; the number one hero in the flesh. He was holding down the monster; watching it writhe and flail under his hold. It clawed at him before finally giving up. Its strength finally failing. It went limp soon after; and finally faded away into a cloud of shadows.

"A-All Might!" Izuku exclaimed, pale and shaking before the heroic titan.

Katsuki got up from the ground, standing up and joined in the awe of standing before the man.

"Are you two alright?" He stood up, turning to the two; his cape flapping behind him.

"Izuku! Katsuki!" Aqua yelled, coming up behind the man and running towards them with the help of Ingenium. She pushed off of him and ran the rest of the way, or tried to. She fell to her knees at the side of All Might; before she could get up again she was tackled by the two boys.

"Onee-chan!"

"Sis!"

Izuku sobbed as she buried his face into her exposed, burnt shoulder. She winced in pain, but chuckled softly as she hugged him and Katsuki.

"Onee-chan! Look, it's All Might!" Izuku said loudly, looking up to the man.

Aqua looked at her brother, before looking up to the man in surprise. Just realizing he's right there.

"O-Oh! Hello there!" She exclaimed, slowly standing upand looking up to him.

"A-All Might! Hello sir!" Ingenium ran up to them, jumping when he saw the man.

"Hello there young man. I'm sorry I'm late, the heroes in the other sections of the city needed help with the large numbers of villains." He said. He looked at the disappearing black cloud, before looking to the four.

"Are there any other villains in this area?" He asked the two adults.

"No, Aqua and I were able to take them out. That...thing was the only one left." Ingenum answered.

 _'Darkness.'_ Aqua thought, a bit of dread filling her. Even this world wasn't safe...

"I see." There was the sound of some yelling and running footsteps.

The heroes were finally here. They were yelling loudly and heading towards the unconcious villains. Quickly gathering them up before they could regain conciousness.

Izuku hesitantly approached the colossal man, lightly tugging at his cape before he was called over. He looked down to the little greenette, his eyes wide with awe, yet stil pouring out large tears.

"A-All Might?" He asked, Katsuki walked over and stood next to him.

"Yes little one?"

"T-Thank you for saving us!" He said quickly , bowing just like he was taught. He was so grateful, he was saved by All Might, and now he gets to talk to him? How amazing!

"It's no problem! That's what a hero does!"

Someone called after him in the distance, requiring assistance.

"Ah, I must be leaving now. It was nice meeting you all." He turned to Aqua and Ingenium. "You two did an amazing job at handling this area of the city. I hope to see you again one day, as future heroes. Also..." He quickly took off his cape and handed it to Aqua, looking away and coughing. "I think you may want to...cover up young lady."

Aqua raised an eyebrow in confusion, before looking down at herself and yelping loudly. She hurriedly grabbed the cape and wrapped it around herself, her face red.

"T-Thank you..." She mumbled, glaring at the blushing Ingenium. "You could have warned me you jerk." She muttered.

"I literally just realized until he p-pointed it out." He coughed, looking away. She punched his arm with a huff.

A majority of her clothes had been burnt off, most of it ash. She barely had enough on to be considered decent in some manner.

She sighed and looked down at the two boys, watching the hero run over to where he was called.

Ingenium was about to walk off, when he looked to the young woman. "Hopefully I'll see you later. You'd make a great hero."

As he walked off, a loud rumble was heard overhead. It began to pour.

Aqua sighed and shook her head. She pulled some of the cape away from her and told the boys to get under it. The last thing they need is to get sick after all this happened.

"Come on, let's go find mom." Aqua smiled, seeing Izuku and Katsuki smiling back up at her. They started making their way opposite of where the heroes were gathered.

"Hey Izuku?"

"Yeah?"

"Happy birthday." She smiled, as she ruffled his hair.

 **-SotP-**

 **AAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH**

 **I finally got this chapter done!**

 **I am so sorry for the lack of posts everybody, quite a few things have happened since I last posted.** **I have to start doing these on Google Docs, because I can't access FFN anymore at school. Why? Well, beause of the thing that is shitty luck and the inability to have nice things; personal computers aren't allowed at school anymore so that's a huge setback. And I ca't access FFN on the school computers. I know I could have like finished it in Google Docs, but it was like a stupid thing that I felt I had to finish this chapter on FFN.**

 **I'm really am going to try to regulate my updates, FB season is almost over so that'll free up a lot of time.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, I'll be updating HotN next, again gonna finish it on FFN; but it'll be coming out soon.**

 **Have a nice day/night everybody!**

 **I do not own MHA or KH**


	7. Chapter 7: You Can be a Hero

**You Can be a Hero**

It had been about three weeks since the villain attack, since Izuku's birthday.

The Midoriya family had returned to some sense of normalcy. Aqua had ended up in the hospital for about a week, her burns, bruised throat, and mild concussion needed treatment. And on top of it all, she had ended up with mild hypothermia.

Inko refused to let Aqua train until she was better, whether it be from her injuries or her exhaustion. Inko even banned her from using her healing abilities. Knowing how much energy that would take up.

Not that Aqua had put up too much of a fight with that, she wanted nothing more than to rest at the moment. Not to mention she had a lot to think about.

Izuku had taken the Keyblade, and he had been able to use it. It didn't reject him, and return to her hand immediately. He had unknowingly given her the energy she needed to finish that fight, all that power suddenly snuffed out with the accidental passing of it.

He looked absolutely exhausted by the end of that ordeal. He almost slept through the entire next day.

But Izuku had been able to use a Keyblade…

That one thought, stood out in her mind. Her little brother may be a Keyblade wielder just like her. He had the potential, like she did at his age. But no one to train him.

 _I could train him…_

She stopped short at the thought, her mind short circuiting.

"No!" She said, covering her face. What the hell was she thinking?!

She is in no way fit to train someone in using the Keyblade! What on earth is she thinking?

 _I'm a Master._

But that didn't necessarily mean she could. Not to mention she was a very poor Keyblade Master…

"Did Master ever feel like this?" She asked aloud, sighing and leaning back on the couch. Her eyes slowly looked over to the clock, it was 3:43. She really needed to fix her sleeping habits.

Was there ever a moment where Master Eraqus doubted himself? Did he ever feel unfit to take on a pupil, let alone two, three?

She groaned and rubbed her eyes. Sleep, she needed sleep. She could think more on this later when she had a good night's rest.

She laid down, pulling the blanket over her. She closed her eyes, trying to fall to sleep. Yet through the silence, and the exhaustion her mind kept going. Not allowing her any rest.

Through the darkness of the night she found herself tossing and turning. She felt restless, her mind wouldn't stop running a million miles a minute. It was around 5 in the morning when she gave up on her much needed sleep and went into the kitchen.

She poured herself a glass of water as she listened to the sounds of the house. The rhythmic ticking of the clock, the hum of the AC, the whooshing winds that blew wildly outside. She ended up sitting down at the table, lost in her own thoughts.

A tiny ball of fire danced around in the palm of her hand as she thought to herself.

How would I even start? I don't have any of the books he'd have us read. I only remember the stories he'd tell us of the Keyblade War.

I'd have the basics. The responsibilities of the Keyblade Wielder, the power he could wield. But how might that affect his Quirk when he gets it?

What would mom think?

She stopped short. Oh god, Inko might not be willing to even let her teach Izuku. She nearly killed herself in that fight against the darkness! Her power probably drew that darkness to them, and if Izuku had a Keyblade it would probably act as a beacon screaming 'Light Here!' to whatever creatures may worm their way into this world.

Oh yeah, the creatures of darkness were a whole different matter. Ever since that thing had come after them, she had grown paranoid. Trying to sense any other traces of darkness, anything. Much to her relief, and dread, there was nothing so far.

That either meant that that thing was the only one, or something else was lying in wait. And she was willing to bet everything on the latter.

She hadn't realized it until the room had gotten a lot warmer, but the small flame in her hand turned into a large fireball. She snuffed it out with a large sphere of ice. Hot steam entered the room, making her sweat.

She stood up, looking to the kitchen clock.

5:24.

She would try again to get some rest. Or at least so she thought.

She had laid down on the couch and pulled the blanket over herself, sighing at the warm comfort. She was about to fall asleep, until a small voice called her.

"Onee-chan?"

She sat up, tired blue eyes falling on an equally tired child. He rubbed at his eyes as he came up to the couch, where she moved so he could have enough room. She watched him climb on top of the couch and crawl over to where she was, then wrap himself in the blanket.

"What's wrong?" She asked softly, adjusting herself a bit as he leaned against her and hugged her.

"I can't sleep." He mumbled, looking down. His usual energy and radiant smile were gone. Replaced with a worry and exhaustion.

"Did you have a nightmare?" She asked, hugging the small child back.

Izuku shrugged and stayed quiet.

The bluenette watched him for a moment, seeing a few tears starting to build up. She knew what it was, it had been bothering him for a while now.

"You worried about your quirk?" She asked, getting her answer when she felt his grip on her tighten and he whimpered softly.

"A-A lot of the other kids at daycare have theirs. I still don't have mine...e-even Miyumi has hers and she just turned four." He whispered. "I-I've been trying I really have! I tried moving stuff like mom!"

"Hey, Hey it's okay." She picked him up, hugging him. "It's okay if your quirk isn't here yet, maybe you're just a late bloomer." She carded her fingers through his hair, soothing him a bit. "I'm sure you'll get it soon. And when you do, I bet it'll be a great quirk." She smiled.

He looked at her for a moment, before smiling a bit himself. He rubbed the tears from his eyes and hugged her again, mumbling softly.

She hummed softly, reaching over to the coffee table and grabbing the remote. She pressed a button and the TV turned on, filling the silence of the house. Izuku shifted a bit so he could look at the TV, watching the bright colors of the screen flash as the heroes of the show were announced.

While they were watching, Izuku had begun to unconsciously fiddle with his gift. The green star-shaped charm that hung from his neck. It was a dark emerald at the center, and slowly grew lighter and lighter as it grew towards the edges. Slowly turning to a bright green,

It was Aqua's gift, and the moment he laid eyes on it he absolutely adored it. He had marveled at how it looked just like hers, even the little symbol in the middle was the same! She told him it was called a Wayfinder, and told him the story about the tree with star shaped fruit. How the fruit represents an unbreakable connection, and as long as you and your friends carry a good luck charm shaped like it; nothing can drive you apart. You'll always find your way back to them, your friends and loved ones.

He carried it with him everywhere, making sure it always hung around his neck. It wasn't until a few days later that he asked Aqua to teach him to make one.

Izuku couldn't help but feel a warm comfort with the charm in his hands, calming.

That morning, Inko walked into the living room to see her two children fast asleep. Wrapped up in a blanket and snuggled together as the TV played some kind of nonsense in the background.

 **-SotP-**

"I can guarantee that even if I had a cookbook to help me make a decent meal; I'd still burn it to a crisp or something." Aqua said as she skimmed through the pages of a cookbook she found.

"If your driving is anything like your cooking, I wouldn't doubt it." Mitsuki said as she looked at the selection of books before her.

"Sis is your driving that bad?" Katsuki looked up to the young lady before getting tagged by a little greenette who ran off. "Hey!"

"Nice to see they're lively as ever." Mitsuki hummed as she pulled something from the shelf.

"Found it!" Inko came out from behind another bookshelf and sighed as she placed the book on a small table.

Aqua looked over curiously to the title cover.

 _Throne of Ashes_

"Is that what you were looking for?" Aqua asked as she put the cookbook down. Watching the boys run past the small table. Katsuki had two small books in his hands as Izuku chased after him.

"Yes, it's the final book of the series and I have been looking for it everywhere!" She smiled excitedly.

Inko and Mitsuki had decided on a weekend outing, nothing too big or exciting. They decided to go over to a large cafe that had a bookshop built into it as well. So the customers could relax and read while drinking any beverage of their choice. The bookshop also allowed customers to either buy the book or borrow it, but they didn't have to make the decision until they were ready to leave the store.

The book shop even had a small section of comics, where the boys had flocked to immediately. Aqua had gone with them of course, while the other two ordered something to drink. The two had grabbed a few All Might comics and rushed off to get back to their mothers.

Meanwhile Aqua had been looking for some reading material, settling on some random novel after a moment when the boys started to call her.

They settled on a nice couch that was placed near the window where gray curtains fluttered softly. The sound of rain was calming to everybody who heard it, a soft rhythmic patter.

"It's a nice day." Inko hummed as she settled down and opened Izuku's juice for him, who took it gratefully and sipped some.

"So what we're just gonna sit here and read all day?" Katsuki asked as he opened his own juice.

"Yup, and you're gonna like it." Mitsuki answered as she leaned back and opened her book.

"But that's boring!"

"It'll be fun Kacchan! We can read all those comics, they have so many! The one with Gang Orca looks cool!"

"Then why did you grab the All Might one, Deku?" Katsuki asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because I wanted to read this one first." He answered simply. He whined shortly after as Katsuki grabbed his cheeks and started to pull at them, grumbling something in irritation

"Alright you two." Aqua sat in between the two boys, separating them. "That's enough. We're going to be playing something called the quiet game now, okay?"

The two looked at her.

"Whoever can stay quiet the longest wins, and whoever wins gets to...hm." She thought about it.

"Winner decides on a punishment for the loser. How does that sound?" Mitsuki cut in, grinning.

Katsuki looked at Aqua and grinned. "I bet I'll win this no problem!"

Aqua raised an eyebrow. "Really?" She asked, hearing Izuku giggle next to her. "You think you'll be able to beat me in the game I always win at?"

"Yeah!" He cheered.

"Okay, game starts now." Inko said, all of them quieting down quickly.

Within 20 minutes of reading the book she grabbed, Aqua had regretted her book decision. It was like a train wreck she couldn't look away from. She wanted to stop reading it, and never look at it again; but at the same time she wanted to see how bad the writing could get.

To her right Katsuki was fidgeting, making little punching motions as he followed along with the comic based on his idol. To her left Izuku was quietly reading, eagerly turning each page to see what happens next.

She tried for 5 more minutes before finally giving up. She couldn't do it, she had to get another book. She stood up and brushed herself off.

"Where are you going Aqua?" Inko asked.

As Aqua opened her mouth to speak, Katsuki spoke up first. "You can't talk!" He said loudly, making a few people raise their eyebrows in question. He suddenly stopped, realizing what he did. "Dang it!"

Mitsuki laughed as she took a sip of her coffee. "Now you're gonna be at the mercy of either Aqua or Izuku, you brat."

"Gah!"

Izuku was holding back a small laugh, his hands over his mouth. Even Aqua was trying not to laugh.

"You're going to replace the book?" Inko asked after a moment, looking at the cover.

The bluenette nodded, she was about to walk off when the other two boys stood up with her.

"I finished this book, and I guess Deku finished his. Can we come with you to switch them?" Katsuki asked as he saw Izuku almost fall off the couch in his hurry to get up with them.

She nodded, and they were off. Both the boys held the hem of her shirt, as they walked Katsuki tried to make one or the other laugh or say something. He almost succeeded when he said Izuku looked like a messy bush.

Aqua strolled over to the comic section, let the boys get their next volume; and walked over to her section to put the book away.

She looked over the titles, looking for something interesting. Hoping to make a better choice this time around. She scanned over the shelves, and as she was about to grab a book when she heard a loud laugh and what sounded like someone choking on their drink.

"Look Tensei it's your-mmph!" Whoever was speaking was muffled by something and quickly dragged off. A loud thud sounded in the next aisle of books, followed by a muffled laughter and a long sigh.

"Tensei?" Aqua muttered, she heard that name before. That was the name of one of the people at the mall. He was the one that kept bumping into her and catching her when she fell over.

"Shut up! She is not my girlfriend!" Tensei said loudly, she could already tell he was blushing. His voice sounded familiar in more ways than one, he also sounded like...Ingenium?

"Really? Because the way you were talking about her the other day would say otherwise." A tired voice asked.

"'She was so amazing, I wish I could meet her again! She would make such an amazing hero.' Need I go on?" A girl's voice asked, teasing him.

"S-Shut up Nemuri!"

Aqua herself was a dark red, the room had gotten a lot hotter.

"Onee-chan do you feel okay? You're all red." Izuku said loudly, concerned. He was tugging on her sleeve.

"You do realize...she can probably hear us right?" The tired voice asked. Shouta if she remembered correctly.

The group next to them went quiet for a moment, before a bout of laughter was heard from two people.

Aqua quietly cleared her throat.

"L-Let's go." She muttered, grabbing the boys' hands and walking back to the table where Inko and Mitsuki were waiting. As they walked the two boys were having their own little argument. Izuku had lost since he talked first, and Aqua had won. Inko looked up, confused at Aqua's dark blush.

"Everything okay?" She asked.

"There was a guy who saw Sis, and said that she's not his girlfriend." Katsuki answered, even looking confused at the phrase he just uttered.

The two mothers looked up at Aqua for further explanation.

"That group from the mall is actually here, a-and uh. One of them is making fun of, Tensei I think, and yeah." She honestly wanted to just forget about it. "Because, at the mall he caught me and kept me from falling to the ground." She sat down, watching the two boys sit next to her.

"I think he likes you." Mitsuki teases with a laugh.

"Mrs. Mitsuki!" Aqua said, her face growing another shade of red at the thought.

"Mitsuki, be nice. Don't tease her, although you may have a point." Inko giggled.

"Mom!"

Aqua didn't have anymore words to argue, instead burying herself in the pages of her book as the two boys leaned against her. They didn't particularly like the idea of someone they don't know wanting to see her, let alone liking her.

A few minutes had passed without any incident. Katsuki and Izuku had finished their comics and decided to try to read what Aqua was reading. They had absolutely no idea what was going on. Something about an assassin working for a king she fears. First she was in prison, and now she's in a competition or something.

Not that they could catch much, Aqua's reading speed was much faster than theirs.

The flustered feeling and redness from her face was finally gone. Much to her relief. She felt calm, and content. Or at least she did until she felt someone tap her shoulder.

"Uh, excuse me?"

She slowly turned around and saw Tensei, looking about as nervous as she suddenly felt. He was rubbing the back of his head, looking unsure what to say.

"U-Uh, yes? Hello. Tensei right? Or should I say Ingenium?" She asked, standing up. The two boys stood up with her, and hugged her legs. Katsuki sent a heated glare towards the young man, looking like a little demon. Izuku tried to do the same, which turned into more of a pout, and looked about as menacing as puppy.

"Yeah. Aqua right? Nice to know to recognize me, in hero form or civilian form." He laughed.

"Yeah." She answered, rubbing her arm. The atmosphere was a bit awkward between them. "So…?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, uh. Well, I actually wanted to talk to you. For more reason than one." He said quickly. He shot a glare over his shoulder at the two who were laughing at him.

"I heard. You're not as quiet as you like to think you are." Aqua hummed as she put her book down.

Tensei chuckled lightly. "Yeah, sorry about that. So, is it okay to talk? You seem a bit busy spending time with your family."

Before Aqua could check if it was okay, Inko spoke up.

"Go ahead Aqua, we'll be right here when you're finished."

Inko knew about Ingenium helping Aqua with the fight against the monster, Aqua had told her. He was trustworthy, he was a hero in training.

She nodded at Inko and tried to take a step forward when she heard a whine from her brother. She looked down and saw him holding into her tightly, Katsuki too.

"Hey you two, I'll be right back. It's just going to be a quick chat." She ruffled their hair, and watched them slowly let her go. Izuku lingered a little bit longer than Katsuki, hesitant to let his sister go with this stranger.

She promised to be right back as she walked off with him. She saw two people who were going to try and follow, instead restrained by their moody friend. "Stay here." He told them.

They walked over to a more quiet, secluded section where there wasn't anybody to listen in. Aqua couldn't help but wonder what on earth it was he wanted to talk about.

They stopped and sat down next to a few old books.

"So, what exactly is it you wanted to talk about?" Aqua asked, deciding to get straight to the point. They would end up a bunch of awkward, stammering messes if they didn't get straight to it.

"Ah, right to the point huh? Well, I'm sure you still remember that night right? The one where we were fighting those villains?" He asked.

"Of course, I don't think that's anything I'm going to forget anytime soon." She answered, she was still healing. There were still light yellow splotches on her neck, and the burns were mostly healed; even with the healing quirks some of the hospital staff had.

"Yeah, and you know I'm a hero in training." He added on, getting a nod from her. "Well, even as a hero in training, we still have to write reports of what happened, they were especially needed for this mass attack."

"I take it I was in this report?" She asked, crossing her arms. She didn't quite like where this was going, she almost had the feeling that she was in trouble.

"Well, I tried to keep you as vague as possible. I didn't want you to get in trouble with any law enforcement for using your quirk without a Hero License."

She stopped. "Wait what? You need a License in order to-"

"Yeah, it's mostly to keep civilians safe. Those who have the license are able to jump in and help if they're at the scene. Whether they be a hero off duty or a citizen who happens to have it."

She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "And you're telling me this why?" She asked, there was more; she knew it.

"Well, I go to a school called UA. Our principal is a ferret, bear, cat thing (?) called Nezu. He well, uh he looks over reports to make sure they have the needed information before it ends up getting sent to agencies we've interned under. Well, I don't know how but he got some footage from security cams over on that side of the city. The footage he went over didn't exactly match what I put in the report." He looks at her.

"What does that mean exactly?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you're not in trouble. I did kind of get in trouble though, for lying in my report. But he saw the fight we had against that thing, and for some reason he asked me to find you." He looks at her.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't know why, but he asked me to. He told me, to tell you, that he wanted to talk to you about your actions and quirk." He let out a long sigh. "I'm sure there's more than that, but he wouldn't tell me. But he did look worried about something." He added.

It took her a moment to process this, and to gather herself to ask her questions. "So, you've been looking for me? Have you been looking for me here, or…"

"No, I actually just ran into you. I honestly, wasn't sure how I was going to find you in all reality. Funny how it works out huh?" He hums.

"I guess, but what if I didn't want to see him? What if I just said I can't come by?" She asked.

He shrugged. "No idea, but Nezu is pretty clever. He'd probably find a way to get you to go one way or another. I'm almost afraid to think that sending a pro hero to get you is the next step."

"Because a hero in training couldn't?" She laughed, which quickly died down. "Or what, would he threaten my family?"

"Aqua he's a principal of a school that trains heroes. I honestly think he wouldn't do that." He said quickly.

"But he would send a pro hero?"

"I said 'I think'." He said.

"No, you said 'I'm almost afraid to think'." She retorted. They look at each other for a moment, trying to figure out a solution of some kind. The thing that had sent her mentally reeling was hearing that UA was a hero school.

There were a few possibilities that ran through her mind, but one stuck out in her mind through it all. It was something that she's heard again and again.

'You'd make a great hero!'

She groaned and leaned back after a moment, rubbing her eyes. It was a lot to think about, from thinking about training Izuku, to worrying about the darkness, to still trying to figure out a way to get back to her friends. Although the last concern started to becoming the least of her worries.

"So what, I'd just walk in there or something?" She asked, looking back at him.

"I actually think I'd have to be with you. The school has a security system that only allows certain people in." He answered.

She looked down, a few thoughts running through her mind. "I think I'd rather talk to my mother about this. I don't exactly like the idea of just running off and talking to this, Nezu." She stood up

"Yeah, I get it." He stood up with her. "Uh, here." He pulled a small piece of paper out of his pocket and a small pen from the other. He wrote something down on it, his face growing a bit more red with each pen stroke. "Use this to call me when you wanna head over there, or if you wanna meet there, or if you just wanna talk!" He said that last part quickly before rushing off as red as a tomato.

She raised an eyebrow in confusion as she looked down at the paper, seeing a set of numbers and his name above it. Iida Tensei.

"But, I don't have a phone…?" She says aloud to no one.

She made her way back to the others, but before hearing a loud panicked scream and a laugh. Probably Tensei and his friends.

She sat down next to the boys once she got back, making Inko look up.

"Aqua. How did it go?" She asked, putting the book down.

"Well, there's a few things to talk about. I think I'd rather wait until we get home." She responded.

Inko looked over her for a moment before nodding.

"Also, he gave me his number, but I don't have a phone."

 **-LotF-**

"I see." Inko sighed as she served dinner.

"I felt it would have been better to talk to you about it before making a decision. Especially since this is the first I've heard of UA." She added, putting the drinks on the table. Izuku was helping out by getting the napkins and utensils.

"Onee-chan that's so cool! What if they want you to go to UA? All Might went to UA too, and he's the coolest hero ever!" Izuku said, beaming.

"I'm not sure." Aqua said. "I told you Izuku, I don't think I'd be a very good hero."

"You would." He encouraged, placing another napkin on the table.

Aqua huffed in mock frustration. "Did you wash your hands?"

"Uh…" He quickly ran off.

Once they had gotten home, Aqua told Inko about the conversation. The principal wanting to see her, what he could possibly want. And the possibility of being in trouble what she did. By the end of the conversation she was pacing in the living room.

Inko had looked equally concerned, if not more so. They began to talk over the possibilities as Inko cooked dinner.

"Well, UA is a prestigious school. I'm sure the principal wanting to see a random person would probably be a big deal, right? But the thing is, Tensei did mention the possibility of getting in trouble for acting without a license. But wouldn't that kind of consequence be carried out by other law enforcement?"

Aqua hadn't realized she began pacing again until Inko put a hand on her shoulder.

"Aqua, this is a decision I think you should make on your own. I don't know what may lie ahead if you do or don't go. But I do know that there are possibilities of great opportunities that may show up along the road whichever path you choose." The woman smiled. She looked down the hall as her youngest ran down the hall and up to Aqua.

"My hands are clean now!" He showed her.

The bluenette smiled at him. "That's good, now let's eat dinner."

He shook his head. "Nuh-uh! You have to wash your hands too Onee-chan!"

She huffed softly and quickly washed them before sitting down at the table.

Izuku told them about his day as they ate, telling them about how he followed Kacchan around. The drawings he made, something new he learned.

"Is that all Izuku? You usually have a lot more to tell us about." Inko said as she refilled her glass.

Izuku shook his head, saying that nothing really happened that day. That he and Katsuki played most of the time.

He was quiet for the rest of dinner, focusing on his meal instead of talking with the other two. Not much to say.

Dinner passed without any more conversation. Each person stuck in their own thoughts.

It wasn't until they began cleaning up that conversation started up again.

"I think I'll go." Aqua said, breaking the silence.

"Huh?" Izuku looked up from where he was looking, making sure he wasn't going to trip over something and break the plates. Even Inko stopped wiping down the counters to look at her daughter.

"What?"

"I've been thinking about it, again and again. I know, I for one don't exactly trust him because I don't know him. But like you said, he's the principal of a well known school; I'm sure there's not much he could do in harming my family if I say something that displeases him without getting in some kind of trouble. And it is just meant to be a talk. If he makes an offer, like any other offer, rejection is always on the table." She explains, washing the dishes.

"So, whatever happens, I should be able to walk out of that place with no worries of any kind." She added soon after.

"So I take it you're going to text that Tensei boy?" Inko asked, a small smile on her face.

"I don't have a phone, but I guess I could use the house phone." Aqua said.

Inko thought for a moment. "Hold on." She hurried out of the kitchen, the countertops clean. While they waited Aqua and Izuku finished the dishes.

"Hey." Aqua said softly, kneeling down to Izuku. "Everything okay?" She asked.

Izuku shrugged, not looking at her. He kept his eyes trained to the ground.

"Izuku, hey look at me." She watched him slowly raise his head, biting his lip as he looked at her. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"J-Just worried about my quirk." Izuku mumbled, a half truth. He sighed shakily as he bowed his head again. He didn't have the courage to tell her what happened with the other kids that day. How they started to make fun of him. He didn't want to worry his sister or mother, besides he was going to have a quirk for sure! He just hasn't gotten it yet.

She hugged him tightly, assuring him it'll be okay. He just has to patient.

Her words did little to comfort him, but he put on a smile and hugged her back.

Aqua stood up as Inko came back into the room. She was fiddling with some item in her hands, pressing a few buttons before closing it.

"It's my old phone." She said, handing Aqua an old, blue flip phone. "I always saved it just in case my current phone broke, or I lost it." She smiled as she watched the young woman look it over in her hands. If she had to guess, they probably didn't have phones where she was from.

"Izuku, how about you wash up and get ready for bed. I'll there to tuck you in okay?" Inko looked down to him.

He nodded with a yawn, and walked off rubbing his eyes.

Inko explained to Aqua how to use the old phone, explaining texting and calling. There were no contacts in the list, and her first trial was putting in the number and name. Which, felt exceedingly difficult at first. After a few slip ups and such she got the hang of it...for the most part.

"This feels more complicated than it should be." Aqua muttered as she put in the last digit of the number.

"What exactly did you use to communicate long distances?" Inko asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We couldn't, not in most situations." Aqua muttered softly, earning a laugh from Inko. "There needed to be a fixated point, where someone could focus magic and from there you had to be sure that person was there!" She couldn't even begin to count the amount of times Master Eraqus had almost missed a conversation with Master Yen Sid.

"Our way seems a bit more convenient though doesn't it?"

"Yeah." Aqua admitted.

"Mama?" Izuku stood in the hallway, holding a plush All Might toy in his arms.

Inko turned around and smiled at him. "Ready for bed?" She asked, he nodded and smiled as she picked him up and carried him to his room.

Aqua hummed to herself as she looked at the phone, she only had four contacts. Inko's, Katsuki's parents, and Tensei's.

She sighed as she sat down on the couch. Would now be a good time to call him? Or would he be asleep by now? Maybe if she sent him a text? No, she was barely able to put in a name correctly without a bunch of slip ups.

She closed the phone before setting it down and laying down.

It was another thing she'd deal with another day. For now she's made her decision, and that was good enough for the day. She'd take care of the rest tomorrow.

 **-SotP-**

Aqua hummed to herself as she found herself pacing in the living room, her wet hair a bit of a mess.

She held the phone in her hand, her finger hovering over the call button.

She heard herself groan in frustration as she combed a hand through her hair.

"You okay Aqua?" Inko asked as she was about to walk out of the house.

Izuku looked over at his sister with worry.

"I'm fine, just about to call Tensei." She said, feeling a bit of sweat run down her face.

Inko laughed. "Okay, I'm going to take Izuku to daycare. You go ahead and make your phone call. I'll be back home for a minute and then I'm going to head to work." She said, smiling before walking out.

Aqua locked the door behind her and sighed as she leaned against the door. Silently frustrated with herself.

Why was she acting like this? Why did she feel so nervous?

She had begun to walk around the living room again, thinking about what she'd say.

She groaned in frustration at herself before huffing. "You're acting ridiculous! Just call him!" She told herself, pressing the call button and putting the phone to her face. She heard the phone ring for a moment, half expecting it to just go on and him not answer.

"Hello?"

Her mind went blank when she heard him.

"Uh, hello? Hizashi is this you screwing with me again?"

"Hi!" Aqua finally managed to say, feeling stupid.

"Who...oh! Hey Aqua!" He greeted, there was a hello from his end and he quickly greeted them. "Hey, so what's up?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing much. Just...nothing. I called to tell you that, yes I'll meet with Nedzu."

"Oh, great! Uh, today is...Tuesday so, today might not be the best day; how is Friday?"

"Friday?"

"Yeah, they're putting us through some heavy training right now especially after school, but on Friday they let us leave training early. How is 4:30?"

She nodded, then realized it was a foolish gesture over the phone. "Yeah, 4:30 sounds good."

"Cool, are you going to want me to pick you up? Or do you want to meet me at UA? If you want me to pick you up I can leave a little-"

"No, no it's fine! I'll see you on Friday at 4:30." She heard someone call his name on the other end. "You sound kind of busy, I'll see you later bye!" She hung up and threw the phone away from her before burying her face in her hands.

Inko came home to a red faced Aqua sitting against an iced over wall.

After Aqua finally recovered from her bout of embarrassment she made herself something to eat, but not before telling Inko about the plans on Friday.

Inko couldn't hold back a laugh or two as she watched Aqua freak out all over again, and fail in trying to hide it.

"Well, Friday sounds good to me. I'm planning on taking Izuku to the doctor, just a quick check up." Inko had added the last part soon after.

Aqua looked to Inko as she put the bread away,

"It's about Izuku's quirk isn't it?" She asked. "You're worried too?"

Inko nodded softly before grabbing her bag. "Do you have the spare key?" She asked, she had an extra key made after one time Aqua had gone for a walk to clear her head. Inko had locked the door behind her and an hour or two later Inko had woken up from a nap to Aqua falling through the kitchen window she was able open. She had knocked on the door, and neither Inko or Izuku had heard her.

She scared the living daylights out of poor Izuku who heard the loud crash, waking him up from his own nap and saw a hunched over figure in the dark kitchen. He screamed and ran to his mother's room.

It was just Aqua who was nursing a bloody nose and bruised elbow.

"Yes, I have the key." Aqua sighed.

"Be sure to leave a window unlocked, just in case."

"One time mom!"

"One time is all it takes." Inko laughed, the incident making her recall something similar that happened with Mitsuki when they were younger.

"Try not to ice over anything else while I'm gone okay? And please try to get some kind of rest, you look exhausted." Inko said as she walked out.

"You have a nice day at work too." Aqua sighed as she closed the door.

Much to Aqua's own surprise, she had actually fallen asleep. Exhaustion from far earlier in the day from her run, endurance training, and a lack of sleep once more; had finally set in.

She ended up waking up to Izuku playing a game of stacking while she was asleep. She woke up and all of a sudden two remotes, five plushies, a book, and a stack of pillows came falling over her. Remotes hurt a lot.

Izuku had stood in the middle of the living room in shock, another book in his hands.

"Uh...hi." He smiled.

"I'm going to give you five seconds to run." Was all she said as she began to get up. She heard him squeal loudly and start to run off. She kept her promise and raced after him after five seconds passed.

Izuku didn't stand a chance as he was suddenly snatched up and dragged back to the living room. He screamed in laughter as his sister tickled him while she interrogated him.

"Why were you stacking things on me?" She asked.

"I-I thought i-it'd be funny!" He managed to yell through his laughter.

"Where's mom?" She asked, unable to hold back a laugh as he laughed harder.

"M-Mom went to get food and s-she told me t-to wake you up!" He said, he gasped for air through his laughter as she stopped; showing mercy for a moment.

"Oh, is that so?" She asked, watching him sit up as he caught his breath. He chuckled a bit more as he rubbed the tears of laughter from his eyes.

"Yeah." He nodded.

He wasn't prepared to be attacked with tickling again.

"But why stacking?" She asked loudly, only answered in loud laughter. Izuku had tried to defend his sides from her, when that had inevitably failed he had tried to push her away.

"I-It was funny!" He had laughed, trying to push her hands away from him. He hadn't quite been aware of a small spark coming from his hands.

"Was it? Well maybe next time you're taking a nap I'll playing the stacking game on you!"

At that Izuku yelled loudly as a protest and suddenly Aqua felt a harsh jolt go through her as she heard a sparking noise. It wasn't enough to incapacitate her, but enough to surprise her.

Izuku had thought she had gone still as her letting him go, and he quickly scrambled away and gathered his plushies before running away.

Aqua had shuddered and shook her head as she quickly recovered, looking over herself.

That little jolt of lighting.

That wasn't her.

 **-LotF-**

The days had flown by like they were nothing, before she knew it it was already Thursday.

Everyday she would train on her own, working on endurance of her magic, strengthening muscles, and a few other activities. Everyday she would think back on that moment where Izuku had accidentally electrocuted her without realizing it.

It was weak, just as any power would start out.

She could feel it, that power. It wasn't as strong as it was when he held Master Defender, no. Far from it, but it held so much potential.

A potential that could come with such a price, it could feel unbearable to pay at times.

She had begun to think of the future.

One day she would have to leave, one day she'd be called upon to face the horrible darkness that had nearly swallowed her friends. A darkness Izuku might have to face one day, to defend this world.

She had been thinking it over while the boys were playing at the park. She had offered to take the two to the park since they had been playing a game that they never got to finish at the daycare.

It had suddenly hit her like a freight train while she was sitting on the bench, watching the boys.

One day she was going to have to leave. Leave this place she's started to call home, leave the family she gained. Leave the two boys who loved her with all their hearts and had started calling her their sister.

Sure, she could take care of all of them at the moment, she could protect them; but what about when she was gone.

The chance to return to her friends, to save them and face Xehanort could come at any time. It could arrive at that moment, maybe the next day, or even a month from then!

But who would take care of those two?

She took a deep a breath as she looked up towards the two.

They were mimicking the All Might laugh as they had defeated the pretend villain that was plaguing the playground that acted as their city.

"Izuku! Katsuki!" Aqua called, seeing them look over. "Come here for a minute!" She heard them yell an okay before getting down from the top of the jungle gym and running over to her.

She took a deep breath as they stopped before her, taking in the sunset that colored the area an array of bright and intense yellows, to soft oranges that casted larger shadows.

They looked up at her, watching her.

"Onee-chan?" Izuku asked softly.

Aqua said nothing as she kneeled down to meet the two eye to eye.

"Hey you two." She smiled. "I want to talk to you about something."

They watched her, attentive.

She looked over them, thinking over her words for a moment.

"You two know, that I love you right?" She asked. Earning a pair of confused faces. They looked at each other for an answer to their silent 'what?' before looking back at her.

"Yeah, we know." Izuku answered, Katsuki nodded.

"You two know that I would never leave you right? I'd never abandon you, and leave you alone without a reason, right? But if I did have to leave, I wouldn't go without thinking about you two first; right?"

"Uh...yeah." Katsuki raised an eyebrow, looking concerned.

"You two know that I would do everything in my power to keep you safe right?"

They both had thought back to that night, that terrible monster that had plagued their dreams for a time.

"Of course, and we would do anything to keep you safe Onee-chan." Izuku answered.

Aqua went quiet for a moment, once again to think over her next words.

"Well, one day I might have to leave. It might seem sudden, and it might hurt your feelings; but I wouldn't go without putting you two into consideration first." She glanced at them. "But that day, is far, far away."

They seemed to be put at ease with that small promise.

"But, I know that day will come. And I need you two to do me a favor, starting now."

They straightened up, watching her.

She looked at Izuku first.

"Izuku, do you like Katsuki? She asked.

He looked at her before smiling.

"Of course, Kacchan is my best friend!" He smiled, looking over to his friend who had his arms crossed.

"So, say Katsuki were to go down a dark path, and it might seem like he could be lost to everyone; would you save him?"

Katsuki looked almost offended when Izuku responded. "Yes! Of course I would!"

Katsuki was about to protest when Aqua turned her gaze on him.

"And what about you Katsuki? Do you like Izuku?" She asked.

He huffed and kicked up some dirt. "Yeah, I guess. He is my friend." He mumbled, ignoring the beaming smile Izuku gave him.

"And if Izuku were to go down that dark path? Hurting others, losing himself, on the brink of falling to darkness?" She asked.

"Yeah I would, because that's what a hero would do, and who else is gonna protect Deku? What are you getting at sis?" Katsuki asked.

She sighed softly before putting one hand Katsuki's shoulder, and the other on Izuku's.

"The favor I need from both of you." She started. "I need you two to take care of each other, to protect each other and keep each other from going down that dark path." She looked between the two of them.

"Do you understand?" She asked softly.

They looked at each other then at her.

"You just want us to look after each other?" Katsuki asked. She nodded and he sighed.

"Yeah, I guess I can do that." Katsuki huffed while Izuku eagerly nodded.

"Promise?" She asked.

"Promise." They both said.

 **-SotP-**

Aqua couldn't help but wring her hands as she stared out the window, watching buildings pass by one by one. Tensei had told her what UA looked like, and indeed she could see it from where they currently were.

"Nervous?" Inko asked, watching her for a moment.

"No! No, of course I'm not nervous." She said, still staring out the window.

Inko sighed and looked around, in the distance she could see a figure standing near the entrance. "Is that him?" She asked.

"Probably." Aqua sighed.

She confirmed it was him a moment later when Inko stopped the car and he ran forward. Tensei opened the door for her.

"Hey." He grinned.

"Hey." She greeted, closing the door behind her as Inko rolled the window down.

"Be good, and good luck. Give me a call when you're done okay?" Inko asked.

Aqua nodded. "I will. See you later Inko." She went over to Izuku's window and waved goodbye to him. Smiling as he waved back, still staring at the school in awe.

"Bye Izuku." She said.

Izuku struggled to roll down the window before smiling at her.

"Bye Onee-chan!"

They drove off soon after, leaving the two alone.

There was silence for a moment.

"So, ready to go?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Yeah."

Tensei led her into the school, going tour guide mode and telling her about the school as they made their way to the principal's office. The different classes, A through H. Class A was the hero course, the top of it all.

He explained how he was in 2-A, the second year hero course. He had been doing a lot of training as of late in order to get ready for this year's Sports Festival. Even though the interest will mostly be focused on the 1st years and 3rd years, he was planning on giving it his all.

"So, why is the Festival such a big deal?" Aqua asked, still firing one question after another with each explanation.

"Well, for the first years it's more of a scouting, because after the Festival some of them get picked for internships that they take in order to get more experience. Then they come back with whatever skills they've acquired and then they have to take the exams. I remember my year of exams, they were rough." He chuckled, they were walking down a long hallway. He had taken a few detours from Nezu's office.

He noticed how tense and nervous she had seemed walking in. He figured being a little late to ease her anxiety wouldn't be such a bad thing. He honestly didn't blame her, even though she didn't know him; Nezu was certainly someone to be feared.

"So, what good does it do for second years?" She asked.

"Well, for some it's a chance to get into new internships. I on the other hand will be returning to the internship I had last year, I actually went under my family's hero agency."

Aqua looked at him.

"Your family's?"

"Yeah, the Iida's have been heroes for a long time. Heh, my father might be retiring soon so I've kinda been put into the spotlight as of recent." He rubbed the back of his head.

"I bet that one fight really put you out there huh?" She asked, referring to the dark creature they had gone up against.

He hissed. "Kinda, but everybody chalked it up to a villain. Nobody is aware it was an unnatural creature sent from the pits of only god knows where. Tried to keep that part quiet and all."

Oh I certainly know where that thing is from

"Except All Might, and Nezu." She says, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah."

They stopped in front of a door at the end of a long hallway.

She sighed.

"We've arrived I take it?" She smiled, holding back a laugh when Tensei gave her a look and gestured to the door which held a 'Principal's Office' plaque on it.

They stood there for a moment, unsure what to do.

"So, what do you want me to announce you or are you just going to waltz in there?" He asked.

"Ever heard of knocking?" She asked, raising her hand and rapping her knuckles against the wood lightly.

There was no sound from the other side, no indication to come in.

The two stared at the door for a moment.

"Maybe you did it wrong?" He asked with a wry smile.

"How do you knock wrong?" She argued, about to knock again when the door opened suddenly startling her for a moment.

"Gah!"

"Why hello there!" A short little creature had said, holding its paw up excitedly, or so it seemed.

He looked up at the two.

"Hello there Iida, nice to see you." He turned his gaze to the young woman standing beside his student. "And I take it this is the young woman I asked you to find?"

"Aqua Midoriya." Aqua introduced herself, hesitantly holding out her hand for the creature to shake, which he did.

"A pleasure to meet you Midoriya, I'm so glad you could make it. I'm sure young Iida has told you about me, Nezu. Please come inside." He gestured into the room.

"I'll meet up with you later." Tensei mutters to her before slowly walking off.

Aqua nodded to him before following Nezu inside. She wasn't sure why she had been imagining his office as an intense interrogation room. A dark room with bright lights, a threatening undertone under everything.

Much to her relief it was just a normal office, a desk at the far end of the room, a wall of windows overlooking the school's courtyard. There were a few things framed on the wall, a certificate, a few pictures of different groups of people.

"Please young lady have a seat." Nezu gestured to a chair in front of his desk. She silently wondered if he'd even be able to see her, his desk had large stacks of paper. And his chair wasn't necessarily high.

She did as she was told, sitting down as the creature walked over to his desk.

"Would you care for some tea?" He asked, pulling tea set seemingly from nowhere. Much to her surprise, it was actually hot she could see the steam rising from it.

"No, I'm fine thank you." She declined, watching the creature watch her for a moment before he poured himself a cup.

"I'm glad you decided to take the time to meet me Miss Midoriya," he takes a sip of tea. "I'm sure you have plenty on your plate already."

Not necessarily…

"It's no trouble." Was all she said, unsure what else to say at the moment. She couldn't shake the feeling like Nezu was calculating her every move, what she would do and when.

She watched him sit down in his desk before slightly scooting a smaller stack of papers off to the side.

"If you don't mind me asking sir, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

What could be so important, that you sent a student looking for me?

A silent question.

"Ah, prefer to jump right in I see. That's good, taking initiative." He set the cup down before picking up a piece of paper. "I'm sure young Iida told you of his attempt to keep you out of the report. Good intentions, but not the best decision."

He set the paper down, eyes scanning over it.

"In the report, he did fill in the details of a rather large, dark, unsettling creature. Quite frightening if I may say so myself." He waited for a moment, before looking up at her.

"It was." She agreed softly, if anything she found it nearly killing the boys and Tensei even more terrifying than it's appearance alone.

"It was a threat you seemed to handle well young lady, one that most have struggled with."

Her eyes snapped to look at him. "Excuse me?"

She saw a small smile reach his face. As if saying 'Do I have your attention now?'

"Believe it or not, this is not the first kind of creature we've seen emerge from the shadows." He sipped at his tea again before continuing. "Until recently, there had been quite a few reports of strange creatures lurking in the darkness; reported by both heroes and interning students. As well as a few civilians.

Aqua swallowed hard before asking. "I take it they would attack those who saw it?"

"Actually no, not at first. With every report, they seemed to mention the creatures being idle. Shortly after sighting them, a villain attack would ensue. It had seemed only then that the creature would begin to attack others. Although as time went on they seemed to become more erratic. Appearing out of nowhere and wreaking havoc."

They were similar to the Unversed in a way, but seemed to lack the markings. Even the ones that were made of shadows had a distinct marking on them. They seemed to be triggered by destructive, negative events.

But they couldn't be Unversed, Vanitas was defeated.

Unless…

Darkness was seeping into the world, the creatures she's faced in the Realm of Darkness somehow wormed their way into this world. But why here? Why in this world that is so isolated from every other one? How long had this been going on? How many people had gotten hurt or killed because of it?

"I feel that you know more than you are letting on." Nezu said, breaking her train of thought. "But at the moment, I will not push you."

"The number had been very high a few months ago, many pros lost their lives trying to take down those creatures. Then all of a sudden, they had all seemed to disappear. Save for a few attacks, even then though many pros have had great difficulty taking them down. Then, even if they could, there would be multitudes of others replacing the one destroyed."

Trying.

"Imagine my surprise though, when I found out that a civilian, a student of UA, and a pro hero had been able to take down what had been such a threat that could kill pro heroes. When young Iida had mentioned it in his report, I felt the need to look into the situation more. Finding a rather faulty piece in the pattern we have."

"Then you found me." Aqua said.

Nezu nodded.

"I must admit, I was quite impressed with what I saw. You had incapacitated the villains that had been terrorizing civilians, saving their lives. Even giving them a way out, blocking yourself in to deal with them. Then saved by Iida. It had taken quite a bit, but you had been able to take down that beast with little to no casualties. Your quirk seemed very effective against that creature."

"What? What do you mean little to no casualties?" She asked, shock in her voice. A second later her mind jumped to the little boy, the one who had been running from the beast. Where was his family?

Nezu sighed after a moment. "I'm afraid I do not have that information. No names, just numbers."

She was quiet for a moment, tempted to argue against that claim, then thought better of it. It may be true, he doesn't know. Then again even if he did, he might not be at liberty to share that information.

Aqua sighed after a long moment and shook her head. "So, is there anything else you'd like to discuss other than my, 'illegal' intervention?" She asked. "I don't quite understand why you have such an interest in that event, I understand now that I acted out of turn but if I hadn't intervened when I did so many others would have died." She stood up, raising her voice without realizing it.

"If you want to send me to the authorities and have them punish me then so be it, but I feel that I did the right thing. Whether I had one of those licenses or not shouldn't constitute whether I can help people or not. I have this power to help people, and defend them against whatever threat may come their way so I decided to use it. I understand that I had acted irresponsibly, but I will take the consequences at face value." She watched him. "Sir." She added after a moment.

The small rodent watched her for a moment, holding her gaze. Before he bursted out laughing, catching her off guard.

"Oh dear, it seems you have terribly misunderstood the point of this visit." He said, quieting down after his laughing. "My dear, it was never my intention to dish out punishment for your acts."

"Huh?"

"No, not at all. Although I am glad to hear that you accept responsibility for what some might say was a slight indiscretion. If anything that speech of yours confirmed a few things about you." He drank the rest of the tea in the cup and set it down.

"You see Miss Midoriya, I'm afraid there is a threat on the horizon. One that we are not prepared to face quite yet, not without some help." He turned towards the window, as if trying to see beyond the world itself. "I feel as if that had just been the first wave of a horrible threat, testing the waters. We need heroes that are strong enough to defeat them, a bright light to banish the shadows that are looming so dangerously ahead. Heroes like you."

Aqua looked at him for a minute, before looking out the window alongside him. Her eyes looking over the blue sky stained with a slight tint of yellow.

"What exactly are you proposing?" She asked. "I'm not a hero, I'm far from that in fact. I don't even think I'd be a good hero." She unconsciously curled her hand into a fist, nails digging into her palm. An action not overlooked by the principal.

He looked up to the young woman, whose eyes were trained on the horizon. Her blue eyes staring at something far ahead of her.

"I'm asking you to enroll in UA, to train and begin the journey to become a hero. You said it yourself, you have the power to defend people. I'm sure whether you're allowed to or not you'd act in order to save everyone around you." He walked up to her. "You have the potential Miss Midoriya, and you certainly have the heart."

He offered the paper to her, she took it and looked it over. Empty lines and blank boxes meant to hold the information she'd fill them out in. She looked over it for a moment before looking back to the principal, who had a smile on his face. A different kind, much different than the one he seemed to perpetually have.

"You can become a hero."

 **-LotF-**

Tensei couldn't help but pace back and forth, he had come back from his run and Aqua wasn't done yet.

He scrolled through his phone, looking through a few different posts of some site before putting it away with a sigh.

He looked at the door for a moment before letting out a small huff. He stepped forward and pressed an ear to the door as quietly as he could.

Before he could hear anything the door opened and he almost fell over, barely catching himself when a pair of hands pushed at his shoulder to try and right him.

"Ah, not trying to get into any trouble are you now Iida?" Nezu said from behind Aqua, looking up to the young man.

"No, of course not Principal Nezu! I just wanted to see how Aqua was doing, I take it you guys are done?"

Aqua nodded.

"Yeah, I was just about to call you. Looks like I won't have to though."

"Young Iida seemed a bit eager to see you again." Nezu thought aloud, earning a glare from two blushing teens.

Iida coughed before looking at her. "So, you ready to head home?" He asked, walking away with her following.

"Yeah, I am." She answered.

Nezu watched the two before returning to his office. He had to contact a certain teacher to let them know of a new student.

"So, how did it all go?" Tensei asked, guiding her around the grounds.

She shrugged. "It went as well as one could expect, it turns out he actually didn't want to dole out any kind of punishment."

"Really?" He asked. "Well, then what exactly did you talk about?"

Aqua laughed and put a finger to her lips. "Secret."

"Oh come on Aqua, no fair."

"Oh it's plenty fair." She grinned.

"At least give me a hint." He laughed as they exited the main building.

"Nope, because if I give a hint you'll figure it out too easily."

"Oh I'm supposed to figure it out now? And if giving me one hint will make me figure it out you just suck at giving out hints."

"Oh do I now?"

"Yeah."

"Well in that case, no hint. You don't get to figure it out." She huffed as she pulled out her phone.

"Woah hey now! How does that work?" He said loudly as he stopped next to her, watching her press the call button. He waited for a moment before speaking again, hearing a hello coming from the other side.

He was about to yell something when a hand slapped itself over his mouth.

"Hi mom." Aqua said, trying to keep her voice level as she struggled with Tensei.

"Yeah, we're done. Yeah, it went well actually." Her happy demeanor began to fade as she heard her mother speak, she sounded sad. Like she had been told the worst thing possible.

"Is everything okay?"

Tensei stopped fighting with her, looking at her with a bit of concern.

"Okay...well you don't have to pick me up. I'm sure Tensei can drop me off."

He gave her a look.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Yeah, we can talk when we get home. Okay. Yeah, know the address don't worry." She hung up a moment later and sighed.

"Everything okay?" Tensei asked.

"She says it is but…well it's just sorta of-"

"It's one of those things you can tell." Tensei finished for her. He sighed after a moment. "Also, dropping you off at home? Aren't we taking things a bit fast?"

She laughed and lightly hit his arm. "Shut up."

"Okay, just let me go get my stuff."

One train ride later, and a bit of walking later; they were close to their destination.

"You know, I actually used to come and run laps around here." Tensei said as he looked around. The sun was beginning to set, casting everything in a soft orange and yellow as they sky began to darken.

"Really? What made you stop?" Aqua asked.

"Well, school kind of kept me busy. And then I was attacked by what was either a giant raccoon or a very mean dog."

"Oh?" She asked.

"Hey, don't look at me like that! It was very fast, and very mean. I wasn't exactly planning on getting my behind chewed off by a random animal. And no, I wasn't using my quirk before you ask. I choose not to use it in residential areas so I don't run into somebody and injure them."

"Did it yell and look like a dandelion?" She asked, her mind jumping to Katsuki's temperament for a minute.

"No, but it did growl a lot. And I think it was yellow? I dunno…"

He frowned at her as she laughed, shaking her head. Honestly she wouldn't be surprised if it was Katsuki who chased him.

"I feel like you might know a bit more about this incident than you're letting on." He said, suspicion in his voice.

She looked away. "Maybe." Honestly, she wouldn't know. It had probably occurred long before she had arrived to that world.

She stopped at the driveway of the house, watching Tensei step back a bit.

"Was it your dog?" He asked.

"I don't have a dog." She told him as she walked forward, him trailing behind a bit. She pulled out the house key before turning to him. "Thank you, for walking me home."

"Oh, it's no problem." He smiled, watching her about to unlock the door. "Hey, uh…" He faltered as she turned to him.

"Uh, you think we might run into each other again?" He asked, wanting to kick himself in the face right then and there. He felt the heat rush to his face, her face had been tinged pink as well.

"Well, I'd say so." She said, managing a smile. "I think it'll happen a lot sooner than you'd expect."

Before he could question what she meant she unlocked the door and stepped inside.

"See you around Tensei." She said, giving a small wave before closing the door.

She smiled to herself as she locked the door. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face, heck she couldn't wait to see the look on Inko's face. It'd surely be a pleasant surprise.

"Aqua is that you?" Inko called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, I'm home." She was about to take out a piece of paper from her pocket when she walked into the kitchen.

Inko was hurriedly wiping her eyes, looking up to her.

"So how'd it go?" She asked.

"It went well. How did Izuku's appointment go?" Actually, speaking of him. "Where is Izuku by the way?"

"It went...okay." Inko hummed softly. There was a bit of silence that she took as chance to elaborate. "The doctor took a few X-rays and...Izuku…" She trailed off. The look on his face had broken her heart. How he had torn down her little boy's dream with a few words. Some would consider it cruel, despite the reality of it was he was just doing his job.

Izuku hadn't said anything since then, keeping quiet. He was probably stuck in his head if she had to guess, still desperately clinging onto that dream of his. Even though it was impossible.

"Izuku what? What happened?" Aqua stepped forward, worried for her little brother.

Inko sighed after a moment. "Can you check on him? He's in his room…"

Aqua didn't hesitate to pivot and run to Izuku's room. Unaware of the paper falling from her pocket, though it did not go unnoticed by Inko.

Aqua stopped in front of Izuku door, it had been cracked open the slightest bit. She heard a video playing, it was the one Izuku had been so eager to show her.

She heard the laughter, heard those words that Izuku had repeated over and over again in admiration of his hero.

"Fear not citizens, hope has arrived. Because I am here!"

Aqua opened the door quietly, stepping inside the dark room.

"Izuku?" She asked softly.

She heard a sniffle before he spoke.

"Y-You see that Onee-chan?" He asked. "A-All Might always has a smile on, e-even things are at their worst…"

He turned around, showing her his tear stained face as more salty droplets poured down his face. It broke her heart to see him like that, so sad, so defeated.

With a shaky hand, he pointed to the screen. Paused so his idol's face was frozen on it, the smile he's mimicked so many times.

"D-D you think, that e-even without a q-quirk...I can be a hero too?"

She stood there, stunned at hearing that. Without a quirk?

How was that possible?

Why?

She looked him in the eyes, she could see it. That dream he had shaped for himself, was starting to crumble. Starting to break into pieces around him.

Her legs moved before she realized it, walking slowly over to him. She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around him tightly as he continued to cry, small whimpers escaping his throat.

He slowly brings up his arms to hug Aqua back, his palms a stinging cold.

Aqua rubs his back for a moment, before taking a deep breath. She pulled away a bit, looking at him as he kept his gaze trained to the ground.

"Izuku." She said softly, wiping away a few of her own tears as she tried to get his attention. He whimpered softly, still not looking up.

"Izuku, look at me." She said, watching him slowly look up at her. His face damp, and eyes glistening with unshed tears.

She put one hand on either side of his face, wiping away a few of the tears.

She smiled at him and had one hand comb through his curls.

"Yes." She saw his eyes widen.

"Izuku, I know you can be a hero."

 **-SotP-**

 **Hello everybody!This is the last chappter with Kid Izuku, so yeah.**

 **Also, I saw the final trailer the other day.Oh boy oh boy, this is gonna be one wild ride.**

 **I honestly can't wait for the game to come out! Well I don't have that much else to say other than Happy holidays, and I hope you all have a good (insert the name of the holiday you celebrate here)**

 **See you guys later.**

 **Have a nice day/night!**


	8. A Different Path

**A Different Path**

A young child sat on the ground, holding his arm in pain. Hot tears pricked at his eyes as a another child his age stood in front of him.

"Why are you being so mean? You're making him cry Kacchan!"

He got into a fighting stance, putting his fists up. Within the midst of his fear he tried to find that power his sister said lied deep within him. Something, anything. Fire, ice, wind, lightning, anything!

"If you keep hurting him, then I'll stop you myself!" He cried out, his voice sounding weak before the three boys that stood before him.

A child, his closest friend, stared at him blankly for a minute huffing in amusement.

"You wanna pretend to be a hero?" He grinned, the other two behind him showing off their quirks in a threatening manner. He slammed a fist against his palm, a small explosion ringing out. "You don't stand a chance without a quirk Deku!"

The little greenette gasped as the three rushed towards him. But he wasn't going to go down without a fight, no he'd protect his classmate. Whatever it takes!

The fight only lasted a few minutes, the three getting out unscathed save for a few small scrapes. Maybe a bit of stinging heat on their arms, but nothing they would consider a real injury.

The boy who had been attacked before Izuku had shown up sat on his knees, still sniffling as he looked over the beaten boy laying on his back. Scrapes and the beginnings of bruising littered his skin.

Izuku groaned as he managed to roll on his side, slowly getting up before facing the child before him. He put on a weak smile before reaching out a hand towards him.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

It was a harsh truth he learned at the young and tender age of four.

Not all men were created equal, some people had so much more power than others. Sad to say, they would abuse that power. Uncaring who they hurt in the process.

 **-SotP-**

Izuku kept his head down as he listened to the teacher drone on, scribbling away in his notebook. It was something he knew he was coming, not that he really cared at the moment. He had made his decision a long time ago.

He was lecturing them about thinking about their futures and what they want to do with their lives.

He looked up as the teacher snatched up the career aptitude tests, and watched the other students start to activate their quirks.

The teacher threw up the papers, a carefree look on his face.

"I know you all want to go to the hero track!"

All the students cheered and began to show off their quirks, ignoring the instructor's reminder to settle down. Izuku only held up his hand, keeping himself low.

He sighed to himself as he heard his childhood friend speak up.

"Hey teach!"

 _Kacchan please don't…_

"Don't lump me in with these bunch of losers, I'm the real deal. These guys will just be lucky to end up as a sidekick to some D-lister. Heh."

 _And he did it anyway…_

Izuku sighed as the class erupted in a rage towards the most prominent student in the class. Both in academics and quirk technique.

"You think you're better than us Katsuki?!"

 _He kinda is…_

"Let's go I'll take you all on!" The blond laughed, a challenge.

 _Please don't._

"Well your test scores are impressive, maybe you do have a chance at getting into UA."

"He's gonna try for the national school?"

"No way!"

Izuku only sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he lowered his head back to the desk again. He honestly didn't expect any less from the fiery blond, after all when they were kids they used to talk about it all the time.

And then…

He mentally groaned to himself as Katsuki began to boast again, saying how UA was the only place worthy of him. If Aqua were here she'd probably cuff him upside the head and tell him to behave. She's had to do it once, she'd surely do it again.

"I'm the only one at this school who stands a chance at getting in. I'll end up more popular than All Might, and be the richest hero of all time!"

"People all across the world will know who I am!"

"People all across our neighborhood already know who you are with all your yelling…" Izuku mindlessly muttered. Unfortunately the blond heard him, twitching in irritation.

"Oh, Midoriya don't you wanna go to UA too?" the teacher suddenly piped up, as if a case of instant karma.

Katsuki had already turned to him, red eyes full of anger. He saw the greenette flinch at those words, his choice high school being outed for everybody to hear.

He hesitantly looked up, everybody's eyes were trained on him before they burst out into laughter.

"Really Midoriya?"

"There's no way you're getting into UA without a quirk!"

He stood up.

"W-Well that's not the case! A-And they got rid of that rule. I could be the first one!"

He yelped as a certain blond yelled and planted an exploding fist on his desk, blowing him back a bit and sending him to the ground.

"What the hell Deku! Didn't I tell you not to apply for UA? You're even worse than these rejects, you Quirkless wannabe! As if they'd let someone like you in when they could have me! You trying to pick a fight!"

"Huh? No! That's not it! Kacchan I'm not trying to compete against you! You know that!" He managed to get to his feet putting his hands up. Before he could say anything else he flinched as a fist planted itself in the wall right next to his head.

"As if you're a threat to me Deku, you're just a defenseless nerd who would die in the exams! Look at yourself, you wouldn't even last a second!" He chuckled as he stepped back.

"Little defenseless Izuku, just like you've always been!"

Izuku shut his mouth and looked down.

Deep down, he felt something shiver, and recoil from the blond's words and the laughter from the others. Further hiding away under his friend's anger filled gaze.

Just keep your mouth shut, you can't talk to him when he's like this.

Thankfully the rest of the day passed without much incident, after the teacher had finally gotten everyone to calm down and return to their seats.

He tried to talk to his friend again, figuring he'd cooled down enough to have an actual conversation.

His attempt was made during lunch, he had been able to find him sitting alone at a table. His goons hadn't come by yet, they were still getting their food, so he had a decent window of time.

"Kacchan."

"What the hell do you want Deku? Get the hell out of here." Katsuki sneered, glaring at the nerd.

"Kacchan, I wanted to talk to you about this morning. Listen, you know-"

"Didn't I tell you to get the hell out of here?" Katsui said loudly, cutting him off.

"Listen to me!" Izuku persisted.

Izuku had suddenly been grabbed by his collar and there was a smoking hand right next to his face.

"Get the hell out of here before I kick your ass!"

He swallowed hard, before nodding.

"Fine." He muttered, stumbling a bit as he was shoved away.

"Oh look it's Midoriya." One of the goons said, walking over. "This loser bothering you Katsuki?" One of them asked.

"No, the little Quirkless runt was just leaving." He growled, glaring at Izuku. His fists were smoking as he watched him slowly walk away.

He huffed to himself as the other two sat down and started talking about whatever stupid topic they found interesting.

 _Stupid idiot._

 **-SotP-**

When the bell finally rang Izuku took a deep breath, he stayed at his desk as other students hurriedly exited the classroom, wanting to enjoy the rest of the day.

He smiled down at his phone as he scrolled through a variety of news outlets, all of them addressing the same thing. The debut of the new heroine, Mt. Lady. He had been there to see her crash into the large villain and steal Kamui Wood's thunder

"That fight from the morning is still all over the news." He muttered to himself. "Better write down some more notes before I forget anything." He looked over the time again. "Better do it at home though, still gotta call Aqua."

He pocketed his phone, and as he was about to put away his notebook it had been snatched from his hands. He looked up to see the culprit, only to see Katsuki standing over him waving the notebook around.

"Don't think you're going anywhere anytime soon Deku, we're not done." He narrowed his eyes as his two goons walked into the classroom.

"You finally cooled down enough to hear me out?" Izuku asked, trying to steel his nerves. He found himself faltering a bit when he saw the other two come up behind the blond.

"What's that supposed to be? A diary?" One of them asked as he spotted the notebook.

Katsuki leaned it in their direction so they could see it. It was labeled "Hero Notes No. 13"

"What? Don't tell me you're taking notes on how to be a hero. Man that's pathetic!" one of the lackeys laughed.

"Are you serious? He's delusional." The other began laughing as well.

"Yeah, very funny guys. Come on just give it back." He stood up, looking at Katsuki.

Katsuki glared at him as his hands started smoking, a sweet smell filling the air. He said nothing as he threw the book out the window, ignoring Izuku's frantic scream.

"Listen here Deku, most first string heroes are seen for their potential early on. One look at them and everyone knows they're destined for greatness. Like Sis." He ignored the shaking of his former friend as he kept talking.

"When I get out of this dump of a middle school and get into UA, people are gonna see me like that. They'll know I'm the next big thing, ad that's not ego talking I just know I'm that good." He grinned.

One of the other rolled their eyes as Katsuki placed a hand on Izuku's shoulder tightening his grip a bit as he flinched, lightly burning him. Izuku's gaze shot to the hand on his shoulder as the heat started to increase.

"Listen here nerd, don't you dare think of applying. Or else." He grinned. Izuku said nothing as he was shoved to the side, all three walking past him. "You're just gonna get yourself killed."

"Wow, that's just sad."

"I know right, I honestly thought the guy would have some fight in him." They laughed, watching him shake and keep his head low.

"He finally gets it, he'll never be a hero."

"It's about time he's realized it."

Katsuki stopped before the door, staring straight ahead as if he was contemplating something.

"Oi, Deku. If you wanna be a hero that badly, there actually might be a way." He took a breath before facing the nerd still facing straight ahead. Shaking and trembling.

"Pray you'll get a quirk in the next life, then consider jumping off a roof. Might actually work."

He felt something in him snap, that thing inside that had recoiled from the blond's words before had suddenly flared up. He whirled around, growling at the blond as the air around him heated up.

Katsuki grinned as he set off a few explosions off from his palm.

"Something wrong?"

Izuku said nothing as that energy seemed to recoil once more, though not as quickly. The heat around him left, but still continued burning and seething from his hands. He snatched up his backpack and started walking forward, walking past the three before throwing open the door.

"No." He muttered as he left, shaking his head.

"Huh." One of the boys said. "I actually thought he would have had some more fight in him with all that talk about wanting to be a hero."

Katsuki was the only one to notice the singed handprints on the door.

He stared at his palms as he made his way to the area where his book should have fallen. He flinched as he tried to flex them a bit.

He burnt himself.

Again.

"That idiot." He hissed to himself. "You can't just go around telling people to kill themselves. What if I had actually done it? What would you have done then? What would you say to Aqua? What would you say to mom?"

He stopped in his tracks as he spotted the notebook floating in the small man-made pond. The koi were nibbling at it.

"My dreams have turned into fish food." He said, dipping a hand into the cool water to pick up the notebook. He looked at the fish as they stared up at him, as if asking for their snack back.

He huffed as he turned away, looking over the damage.

"Dammit." He bit his lip as that thing inside him answered to him one more time. He grit his teeth as he felt his hands heating up again, it hurt.

"Stupid jerk." He began shaking again. "I thought we were supposed to take care of each other." He said as he began walking off. "We are supposed to be taking care of each other." He muttered to himself.

 **-LotF-**

 _"Come on! Onee-chan! Onee-chan!" A young child ran into the room, running over to the table where his sister worked relentlessly on her schoolwork._

 _She was biting her thumb as she ran a hand through her hair, frustration knitting her brows together. She looked up as a small hand tugged at her shirt, quickly looking down with another tug._

 _A smile found itself on her face as she looked down at the small child before her, jumping up and down with excitement._

 _"Come on! It's computer time!" He cheered, tugging on her shirt as she stood up._

 _"Already?" She asked, looking at the clock. "Hm...well it's about time I took a break anyway. Let's go."_

 _He ran down the hall and into his room, he quickly climbed into the chair and spun himself around as Aqua walked to the computer and opened a browser. Searching for the video they've watched over and over again._

 _"Ah! Faster, faster!"_

 _"Easy, it's loading as fast as it can." She laughed as he rocked back and forth, hitting the back of the chair everytime._

 _He grinned as the video began to play, looking at his idol displayed on the screen._

 _That video meant so much to him. It was the debut of his favorite hero, it was the first video he showed his sister. It was the same video he asked her that question, the same one that had held the weight of his entire world._

 _"I'm home!" A familiar voice called out._

 _"Onee-chan!" A blur of green dashed from the living room and barreled into her, making her stumble a bit._

 _"Hey!" She laughed, looked down at the child beaming at her._

 _"Onee-chan! Onee-chan! Look what I can do, look what I can do!" He cheered, hopping from foot to foot._

 _"Hm?" Aqua knelt down to look at him as he put his hands together, his brows knitted together in concentration._

 _He slowly opened his palms as a small flame appeared, flickering a bit. A weak ember, a flame to be fanned._

 _He looked up at her, surprised when she suddenly scooped him up and tossed him in the air, catching him with ease._

 _"Izuku that's amazing!" She said, a smile on her face. She hadn't even been teaching him to use fire, she had been focusing on teaching him history she was able to memorize. "How did you do that?" She asked._

 _"I wanted to be like you, and I wanted to use fire like how you can! I couldn't make one of those things, but I made fire!"_

 _"Kacchan!"_

 _He ran up to him, panting. He had been looking for his friend all over!_

 _"What do you want Deku?" He asked, turning around to look at the boy, raising an eyebrow. He could feel the eyes of one of the boys who had begun to follow him on him._

 _"I made this for you Kacchan!" He smiled, holding out a small box._

 _"What is that supposed to be?" One of the boys asked for Katsuki who took the box._

 _"Onee-chan taught me how to make it!" Izuku smiled, ignoring the boy. He pulled out his own charm out of his shirt, it always hung around his neck._

 _"It's like this! She said it's called a Wayfinder." He said, watching the blond take the charm out and look over it. It was orange, red, and had small bursts of yellow around the edges. Almost like an explosion._

 _"Onee-chan says there's a tree out there that had star shaped fruit, and if you give your friend something shaped like it you'll never be apart. So even if you get lost, you'll find your way back. Isn't that cool Kacchan?"_

 _Katsuki said nothing as he look over the charm, the symbol in the middle was weird. But it looked like the one on Izuku's charm. He also couldn't help but notice the bandaids on his fingers, clearly he had trouble making it._

 _He was snapped out of his thoughts as one of the boys started to laugh._

 _"Pfft, as if Katsuki would actually keep something that stupid!"_

 _"Haha! Yeah, that's the stupidest story I've ever heard!" Another laughed._

 _Katsuki quickly transferred the charm to a different hand as he looked at the shaking green haired boy who was trying to defend the gift he made._

 _"Like I would actually keep something like this Deku." He said, unable to put that much anger or arrogance in it as he let off an explosion, throwing the box away. He ignored the hurt on his friend's face as he and the others ran off._

 _"Stop talking like you can be a hero Deku!" The blond yelled as he pulled the younger's hair. After the park had emptied, he had attacked the child._

 _"O-Ow! Stop it Kacchan you're hurting me!" He cried, trying to pry the fingers from his hair._

 _"Not until you say you'll stop trying to be a hero Deku, you're quirkless!" He yelled louder, tightening his grip. "You're just gonna get in the way and get people hurt you idiot!"_

 _Izuku yelled as he once again tried to free himself, only to to be sent falling to the ground. He made sure to take the blond with him._

 _"No I'm not! You can't make me Kacchan, I'm going to be a hero." He said firmly, still fighting with the boy. Where was this coming from? Why was Katsuki mad at him? Did he do something wrong?_

 _"Why, what the hell makes you think you can still be a hero?" He growled, his palms smoking._

 _"Ah! Stop it!" Izuku yelled, his own hands beginning to heat up. "I'm going to be a hero because Onee-chan said I can be a hero! She said even though I'm quirkless I can still be a great hero!"_

 _Katsuki stared at him for a moment, the two locking eyes in what felt like a dare at the time. His mind raced as he looked for something to throw back at him._

 _He grit his teeth._

 _"You know she only said that just to make you feel better right?" He asked. "She didn't mean it." He was not ready for the harsh slap that hit him as the boy continued to struggle._

 _"No! She didn't, she meant it!" He yelled._

 _"Really? How sure about that are Deku?" He asked, sneering. "She just your big sister, and you know how she doesnt like to hurt your feelings." He grunted as he held the boy firm._

 _"You and I both know deep down she didn't mean that! Because you can't be a hero Deku, even you know that! You're just a quirkless loser who can't even fight back against me!"_

 _"Stop it!" The heat from the blond's hands intensified as his friend's hands seemed to cool down._

 _"You're powerless!"_

 _"N-No I'm not!"_

 _"You wouldn't even cut it as a sidekick Deku, hell I'm sure they would take one look at you and see just how useless you really are!"_

 _"Kacchan stop it!" He yelled._

 _"See? You're crying now, a hero doesn't cry Deku! Sis lied to you, and even if she promised you that someone like you could be a hero she wouldn't mean it!"_

 _"Kacchan I said stop it!" He yelled, a harsh cold enveloping them._

 _Though before anything could come into fruition, a loud voice cut through their struggles._

 _"Hey!" The two were suddenly separated, Katsuki had been pulled off the boy and was held down as the little greenette slowly got to his feet._

 _"Katsuki, Izuku what are you two doing!"_

 _"What are you doing here Glasses!" Katsuki yelled as he fought against the blue haired boy who struggled with him._

 _"I finally get here, and I found out you two are fighting? What has gotten into you two?" He asked loudly._

 _"Kiss my ass Glasses!" The 6 year old yelled as he finally managed to throw him off and stood up. He was sent to the ground again, palms going off as he faced the boy on the ground. Before anything could happen he was tackled by the youngest of the three._

 _"Leave Tenchan alone!" Izuku yelled._

 _"I thought I told you to stop trying to be a hero you quirkless nerd! Like you can do anything against me crybaby Deku!" He easily fought him off, despite Izuku's struggles to keep him pinned._

 _The fight had gone on for a while longer, Tenya had still tried to play pacifist as the two fought. He had figured his endeavors were useless after more failed attempts, he ran off to get the adults._

 _The two were still fighting and yelling at each other when Tensei and Aqua had come running over, quickly separating the two._

 _Izuku was in absolute tears, and had gotten the worst of the beating by far. Katsuki was still yelling and trying to get at Izuku until Aqua had gotten them both to settle down._

 _"Izuku, Katsuki what on has gotten into the two of you?" She asked, looking between the two as she patched up their injuries._

 _The two said nothing as Aqua continued to question them, and scold them for their behavior. Inko and Mitsuki would surely hear about this as well no doubt._

 _It wasn't until Katsuki and the Iida's left that Izuku had gone up to Aqua. The first time he had talked to her all evening._

 _"Onee-chan?" He asked quietly, prompting her to look down._

 _"Yes Izuku?" She asked, getting up and kneeling down to look at him, half expecting an apology, or an explanation of some sort._

 _"Y-You...You think I can become a hero...right?" He asked, his voice wavering as he began to cry again._

 _She seemed confused._

 _"Izuku what...what do you mean? Of course I think you can become a hero, Izuku I have no doubt about that."_

 _He bit his lip._

 _"Promise?"_

 _"I promise."_

 _She had meant it right? She wasn't just saying it?_

 _They weren't just words were they?_

 **-SotP-**

Izuku sighed to himself as he came across a tunnel, pulling himself from his thoughts as he looked down at his hands.

That promise his sister made, it just started to feel like false assurances after a while.

He couldn't help but take Katsuki's words into account, what if she really was just trying to make him feel better? What if he knew something Izuku didn't?

It felt that way sometimes.

She was hardly around anymore, what if she really did say that just to make him feel better? And even when she was home, she would try to help him but it always felt rushed. Like she was in a hurry. Like she didn't want to spend too much time on him...

Even that power, the same that he hadn't been able to do much with other than create a weak flame. Even then, it did absolutely nothing to him as it had began to burn him as he got older. It wasn't as strong as his sister's, and no matter how hard he tried he never seemed to be able to push it very far.

He grit his teeth as he shook his head.

He decided, that even if nobody believed in him he would be a hero. He made that resolve years ago, despite his friend's insistence that he stay far away from heroism.

He would work as hard as he would have to, as powerless as he was, one day he would prove them wrong. He would be a hero.

He swallowed hard and started to laugh loudly, putting a smile onto his face. Heroes like All Might always kept smiling, no matter the circumstance.

He suddenly stopped laughed as he heard something behind him, sloshing around. He turned around, and paled as a wall of dark green sludge appeared before him, towering over him.

"A villain?" He asked aloud, taking a step back.

He began to shake as he saw a pair of eyes and a mouth appear from the sludge, looking down on him.

"Yeah, you'd make a perfect skin suit for me to hide in kid."

Izuku quickly turned around and tried to run away, only for the wall of sludge to pounce on him, enveloping him in a foul goop.

His screams were muffled as the disgusting sludge was forced down his throat, he struggled as best he could.

"Don't worry, I'm just taking over your body. It'll be a lot easier for the both of us if you don't fight back. It'll only hurt for a minute, you'll feel better soon."

The sludge monster's laugh echoed in his ears as he struggled, harder and harder. Clawing at the strange body, and finding no purchase.

"It's no use kid, my body is made out of liquid." He hummed as Izuku continued to struggle.

He couldn't breathe, his lungs were on fire.

"I have to thank you for the help kid, you're a real hero to me. I didn't know he was in the city, I gotta get out of here before he tracks me down." He muttered, looking around.

He only shook his head and he still struggled. His body was getting weak, his limbs felt like lead.

 _I think...I'm dying._

 _No, no this can't be the end!_

He continued his weak struggles, his vision going dark for a moment.

He desperately pleaded for anyone, anything to save him. To take this villain down.

He started to become deaf to the world as a fiery pain enveloped his hands, he screamed one last time as the heat intensified, traveling up his arms as the villain yelled something in panic.

The last thing he saw was the large, imposing figure of All Might before he passed out, the pain suddenly fading and whatever roaring power that had answered his call to only bring further pain was snuffed out.

 **-LotF-**

He felt someone lightly slapping the side of his face, trying to rouse him from his unconscious state.

"Hey! Wake up! Hey-" He heard the voice stop as he opened his eyes, and the slapping stopped.

"Thought we lost you there." He was greeted with the all too familiar face of his idol.

His mind went blank as he started to scream in surprise, backing up quickly. Surprising the hero.

"Well, you're moving around all right. Sorry about that back there, didn't mean to get you all caught up in that mess. Usually I pay more attention to keeping any bystanders safe."

He put a hand to his forehead as he looked away, laughing.

"Turns out this city's sewer system is pretty hard to navigate. But no matter, you were a big help." He pulled out two large bottles from his pockets and showed them to the no longer screaming teenager.

"I have captured the evil-doer!"

Izuku was still stunned, the most amazing hero in the world-All Might, the real thing was standing right in front of him!

The last time he had been so close to the hero, was that one night 10 years ago. He had nearly died that time too. Then was saved by the one and only All Might!

The same thought that went through his head then, went through his head now.

 _He's so much cooler in person!_

"Holy crap, aw man I've gotta have a pen around here somewhere. Can you please sign my notebook?" He asked, quickly grabbing the slightly damp book.

He opened the book to where an empty page should be, finding himself screaming in surprise.

"He already did!" He said aloud.

All Might merely watched in amusement as the young man bowed repeatedly, thanking him for the autograph. He was surprised the kid didn't give himself whiplash. He also couldn't help but feel like he's met the kid before, he looked so familiar.

He brushed the thoughts aside as he just gave the kid a thumbs up.

"Welp, I gotta get this guy to the police. Stay out of trouble ya hear?" The hero turned around, making sure the bottles were secure in his pockets before he started to get ready for takeoff.

"Wait, what? You're leaving already?" Izuku stepped forward.

"Heroes are constantly fighting time as well as enemies, never an idle moment." All Might answered.

Izuku faltered for a moment, but dared a step closer. He couldn't go yet, he still had so many questions to ask.

"Now stand back, I'm taking off." He warned, keeping his gaze forward.

He honestly had no idea what possessed him to do what he did. He ran forward as All Might took off, grabbing onto his leg as he leapt into the air.

All Might was confused with the sudden feeling of extra weight, he looked down and saw Izuku hanging onto him for dear life, screaming all the while.

"Hey, hey, hey, what do you think you're doing?" He asked, alarmed. He started to try to get the kid off of him, only for him to hold on tighter.

"Let go! Listen I love my fans, but this is too much!"

"No way! We're flying and if I let go I'll die!" He cried. The hero suddenly stopped.

""Oh, good point…"

"I just have a lot...o-of things I wanna ask you!"

Before he could continue the hero cut him off.

"Okay, okay. Just keep your eyes and mouth shut okay?"

Izuku nodded and kept his head down, feeling a hand grab the back of his coat.

It had felt like an eternity before they finally landed on top of some building, Izuku was shaking and panting as he stepped away from the hero.

"M-My whole life just f-flashed before my eyes." A moment later he had actually realized what he had done. "Aqua's gonna kill me..."

"That wasn't a very smart move young man. I recommend banging on the door for a while, someone will let you in. Now, I have to go. See you later." He held up one hand as a farewell as he started walking away.

"No, wait not yet! I-"

"No! I don't have any time!" He cut the boy off.

"Wait, please!" He called out, reaching a hand towards him.

 _She had meant it right? She wasn't just saying it?_

 _"Little defenseless Izuku!"_

 _"It's not gonna happen kid."_

 _"You'll never be a hero!"_

 _"We both know she was lying."_

 _"Like sis would actually see any value in you, stupid Deku!"_

 _"All you'll do is get in the way, and get others hurt!"_

He slowly retracted his hand, looking over his burnt palm. He grit his teeth, looking down.

"Sometimes...I really do feel like a failure." He muttered, barely loud enough for the hero to hear. "Like there's no hope for me. Everyone tells me to give up, telling me that I'd be useless, and only get others hurt. My best friend gave up on me a long time ago...and my sister stopped believing in me too. Yet even through that, I'm not going to give up. Ever." His mutters devolved into quiet whispers.

He grit his teeth as he looked up at the hero, his pace slowed.

"Is it possible to become a hero, even if I don't have a quirk?" He asked, nearly faltering when he saw the hero had stopped. "I'm just a kid," he looked down at his hands, "without any kind of power." He clenches them into fists.

"Could I ever hope to be someone like you?" He asked loudly, looking down. He clenched his eyes shut, shaking as he heard the footsteps stop. He swallowed hard and kept his gaze down as he fiddled with his hands.

"I want people to see my smile and feel like everything is going to be okay." He said, smiling to himself. Unaware of the smoke coming from the number one hero. "I know…" He looked at his hands. "I know that I'm powerless, and what I can do now is absolutely useless. I know that becoming a hero will take a lot of work, but I don't care. I want to be the hero everyone looks up to, the kind of hero that can save everyone. Just like you!"

He looked up, only to be met with the sight of a withered blond man, his blue eyes cast in shadow. He screamed loudly and backed up a bit.

"Y-You deflated! W-Who are you supposed to be?" He asked. "Y-You're not All Might, you're an imposter!"

The man before him let out a long sigh before looking at the startled teen. "Young man, I can assure you that I am All Mi-" He didn't get to finish his sentence as he coughed up blood.

Izuku yelled again. "Impossible!"

"You know those guys at the pool who flex and try to look like they've got muscles? Yeah, that's me."

"This has to be impossible!" He ran a hand through his hair. "All Might is a giant who saves everyone. Whether it be from villains or those shadow monsters, he always gets through it all and saves the day. All that with a fearless smile that reassures everyone."

The man who called himself All Might sighed and looked away. "Believe me kid, there is plenty of fear behind that smile." He frowned, taking a moment to sit down.

Izuku watched him run a hand over his face as he looked over the teen. "Can I trust you to keep quiet about this?" He asked.

"Huh? Y-Yeah...but-" He gasped and flinched when the man lifted his shirt revealing a grotesque wound. It was shaped like a flower, it had dark, shadow like jagged lines radiating from the origin of the wound. He felt unsettled with the sight, even with having seen Aqua in bad shape.

It was something you couldn't get used to.

"Looks pretty bad doesn't it? I got this in a fight, five years back. The surgeries I needed to recover from this have pretty much worn me out. Unfortunately, it can't be fixed." There was a pause he let hang in the air, letting the young man process it. "I can do hero work for about three hours a day before I deflate."

Izuku felt himself pale.

"Five years ago…" He muttered, thinking back. "Does that mean it was that large scale battle with those creatures?" He asked. He knew about that battle, his sister was there. When she came home she looked like absolute hell, but she helped drive those things back. Ever since, the number of those monsters had decreased greatly.

The man shook his head. "You know your stuff, but no. Those things landed a few hits, but they couldn't bring me down. Most of the world has never heard of this fight, I tried to keep it on the down low."

He looked back at the boy. "I'm supposed to be the fearless hero right? People have to think that I'm never afraid. But honestly, I smile in order to hide the fear. It's just a brave face I put on to reassure the everybody that everything will be okay. This job is pretty intense kid."

Izuku's lips drew into a thin line as he watched the man stand up, looking away from him.

"So can you be a hero without a quirk? Not a chance." He felt a pang of guilt ring in him at the sight of the devastated face the boy wore. He probably just crushed his dreams, but he needed to hear it, less he get himself killed. Or others.

"It's good to have dreams young man. Just make sure they're attainable." He sighed, walking past him and to the door. "You could be a police officer, they tend to get crap since the heroes are usually the ones who catch the villains. But it is a fine profession."

He says nothing else as the young man stares at the ground. Shaking.

The man sighed to himself as he descended a few steps, before looking back at the door he had just come through. "Alright, now let's get you to the station." He reached his arm down to feel for the bottle that held the villain, only to feel nothing.

He stopped in shock, looking down. He quickly looked up at the distant sound of a large explosion.

"Oh no…"

 **-SotP-**

Katsuki growled to himself as he stomped through the alley, keeping his gaze forward as the lackeys behind him talk about whatever they think is interesting.

 _Dammit, dammit! I took it too fucking far…_

He grinded his teeth as he thought over what he said.

"Pray you'll get a quirk in the next life, then consider jumping off a roof." He said that to him. He _said_ that to Izuku.

If the idiot were to actually do it and they find out it's his fault he'll never get into UA!

Something in the back of his mind told him there was another reason why he shouldn't have done that, something he forcibly pushed back down into the depths of his mind. A young woman's words echoed in his head, making him want to bang his head against a wall in shame.

 _I need you two to take care of each other…_

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard one of the boys say something to him.

"What!" He looked over his shoulder to glare at the one who talked to him.

"I said don't you think you were a bit hard on Midoriya?" He asked. "I mean that was pretty harsh."

"Tch." Katsuki blew up the empty soda as he threw it away. "I hate it when he talks heroes. Besides, someone had to put that little shit in his place!" He growled as he turned away.

"You should try to take your mind off of it." The one with the stretchy fingers shrugged. "Let's go to the arcade, blow off some steam."

Katsuki rolled his eyes. "Fine." He muttered.

"Or…" the other one grinned. "We could sneak into that bar across town, maybe pick up some ladies."

"Oh, that sounds like a good idea."

Katsuki growled as he kicked a random bottle in the alley before whirling around. "Idiots! If we were to do that and get caught they'd never let me into UA!" He yelled.

The two were about to to try to cool him down before they heard the sound of wet slithering as a large wall of slime started to rise from the ground.

"Perfect, I like me a skin suit with some fire." It laughed.

 **-LotF-**

Izuku kept his head down as he walked through the town.

He had stayed on that roof for only god knows how long. He wanted to make sure he wouldn't run into All Might on the way down, not wanting to face him again.

"Of course…" Izuku muttered to himself, looking down at his hands. "Of course." He shook his head and started to wipe at his eyes once he felt the stinging of the tears.

"Don't cry dammit. You knew it all along...you knew it." He hissed to himself. "Kacchan made that point clear time, and time again. Aqua...she doesn't have any faith in you. All that talk about...about getting a Keyblade and how my magic would improve over the years." His voice wavered.

"I should have just figured it was all just a sick joke of some kind. As if some quirkless loser like me could even hope to be a hero. Even All Might said it. I can't be a hero." He grit his teeth as his palms began to burn harshly again in what seemed like anger.

"And all you can do is burn yourself, what good even is _this_." He hissed to himself, clenching his fists tight. He aggressively wiped at his eyes again and again before finally managing to gather himself.

His body was on autopilot as he let himself get lost in his thoughts, moving past people and avoiding bumping into them.

Katsuki had probably been right, maybe Aqua really did say what she said just to make him feel better. And when she tried to teach him, he ended up being so much of a failure he can only hurt himself now.

When did his own flames start to burn him? It's hard to remember.

He was young, he knew that. If he remembered right, it might have been after that fight with Katsuki. He was trying to make that little fire that he had been so proud of, wanting to show Aqua he could do it again. Only for the flame to manifest and start to burn his hands.

He cried and wailed, running to the living room where his mother and sister stood up and were about to run to his room in alarm.

He cried to his sister that his fire had burnt him. He sniffled and cried as she placed a layer of frost on his hands, cooling them down before healing them a bit. He remembered her worried look, how she tried to assure him that it had most likely been an accident.

Then it happened again, and again.

And that little seed of doubt grew more and more.

As the years passed, he tried time and time again. Always getting burned, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't manifest any ice, lightning, or any of the impressive spells his sister had at her disposal.

He got older, and it felt like she had begun to give up on him. She would try to teach him, and even after he burnt himself he would insist he could try again. She had indulged him at first, then when he would say he could keep going she would say no. Telling him to stop for the day.

Their lessons got shorter, and shorter as Aqua had been called away again and again.

It had only been a matter of time before he had forced that little bit of power he could use deep, deep down. Burying it under all his doubts, and uncertainty. It was like a small ember that had been snuffed out before it truly had a chance to burn brightly, and bring light and warmth to everyone and everything around it.

Izuku had been snapped from his thoughts as he heard a loud explosion, looking up to see a large crowd standing around and watching what looked like a villain attack.

He frowned to himself, his body still moving on its own as he made his way to the crowd.

 _What am I even doing here? Did I just subconsciously walk over here? It's not like I can do anything, all my notes are useless…_

He did his best to look at the chaos, flames and smoke obscuring most of the scene as the heroes tried to get everything under control.

He let out a loud gasp as he saw the villain causing all the chaos. It was the slime villain, the one that All Might had captured. It was cackling with glee as the heroes tried and failed to take it down. It looked like it had been wrapped around someone, taking them hostage.

"Isn't that the villain All Might was chasing earlier?" Someone asked.

"Yeah, you don't think he lost to it do you?"

"No way!"

 _The villain was in the bottle...how…_

Izuku thought back to that conversation on the roof. His pockets, they had been empty. The bottle must have fallen while they were flying through the air and he was desperately trying to hold onto the hero keep from falling.

"All of this...all of this is my fault." He said quietly, paling at the realization. A coil of sickening guilt grew in his gut, making him feel sick.

"I think the guy took some guy hostage."

"I hope he's okay, he'd been in there for a while!"

Izuku looked up at that. That person had been trapped for much longer than he was, Izuku was only able to last a few seconds before he started to lose consciousness. This person had been in there for a while and was still fighting.

"What are the heroes doing?"

"You got this heroes!"

"None of them have the right quirks, that guy's body is really weird. Death Arms just said he couldn't get a hold of him!"

"Does anybody know where All Might is?" Someone asked. "Can't someone call him?"

 _No...and even if he were able to get here, he couldn't do anything. I wasted all of his time._

He could only watch as the heroes began to use their energy on trying to put out the flames, and rescue anybody caught up in the burning buildings.

 _I'm sorry...I am so, so sorry._

He flinched and watched as another loud explosion rang out, blowing back some of the slime. An even louder, desperate yell echoed rom the area.

Izuku looked to the struggling figure that was still trying to fight off the slime.

 _Someone with the right quirk will come, I'm sure. They'll be here soon. Please, please just hold on..._

He caught sight of a head of blond hair amidst the disgusting slime.

He felt something in him bristle and tense as the figure struggled to look up. His yells were muffled as the slime wrapped around him again after being blown away.

He felt his heart hammer in his chest as the victim tried to pull away from the goop, struggling to breath once more. He knew him...He knew who it was.

His world went still as crimson eyes met his own forest green ones.

Before he knew it, Izuku had pushed through the crowd and leapt into the scene. Running into the raging flames of the fight scene.

"What are you doing!" One of the heroes yelled, his cry going ignored as the young man ran forward. He yelled something in alarm as he noticed once again his friend was sinking back into the slime.

The slime villain looked up as he saw a small figure running towards him and his victim at a dead sprint. He narrowed his eyes as the green figure ran towards him.

"You again?" He growled, yelling as he sent a tendril of slime hurling towards the boy. He ignores the cries of the heroes.

"No you idiot! You're just going to get yourself killed!" One of them yells.

"He'll kill him!"

 _Why am I running? Why can't I stop? What am I doing?!_

"Say goodbye you little brat!" the slime yelled.

His mind went blank for a moment as he saw the slime hurtling towards him.

What do I do? What would a hero do, what would Aqua do!

His mind suddenly went back to a few notes he wrote earlier. Page 25!

He yelled loudly as he took off his backpack and hurled it at the villain, hearing a grunt of pain as the contents of his bag spilled out and hit the eye of the villain. It stunned him long enough to loosen his grip and temporarily free Katsuki who took in greedy gulps of fresh air.

"Kacchan!" He cried as he started to grab at the slime, trying to free his friend.

Katsuki looked to him, stunned for a moment.

"What the hell, what are you doing here?" He growled, watching the boy continue to claw at the slime.

"I-I don't know! My legs...they just starting moving!" He answered, still trying to make a dent in the bindings somehow.

Before Katsuki could retort with anything the sludge began to wrap around him again, suffocating him once more.

"No!" Izuku yelled, reaching into the seemingly thick slime. He grunted as he grabbed onto something, starting to pull.

He looked to his friend as tears started to well up in his eyes. "Kacchan we made a promise, and I couldn't just stand there and watch you die!"

Katsuki looked to him before growling at the slime. "You get the hell off me!" He screamed.

"You little shit, I'm gonna make sure I kill you this time!" The slime yelled, looking down at the greenette as he continued to pull at his hostage.

The heroes started to rush forward.

"Save him, it's going to kill him!"

Neither Katsuki nor the villain were able to hide their surprise when Izuku gave the slime man a look of pure hostility.

"You let him go!" He screamed, his grip on his friend still tight as the temperature around them dropped.

"Or what?" The villain grinned.

He couldn't help but think back to that night, those words his sister said. Those words that had inspired everyone to believe in her, that gave faith to everybody who stood behind her.

"My name, is Izuku Midoriya. You will release my friend now, or pay the price!" He cried.

Katsuki paled as he swore he saw sky blue in the forest green eyes. He felt a harsh chill run through him as a thick ice began to appear from within the slime, surrounding his trapped form.

Before he realized it, the slime around him had been turned to ice. Izuku screamed as he gave a harsh tug on his friend, breaking the ice and freeing him.

Katsuki grunted as they crashed to the ground. Looking up as the slime villain was about to strike them dead.

"Deku!" He yelled, but Izuku had seen it too. He wasted no time in getting in front of Katsuki, using his body as a shield as he saw the giant fist coming down. He braced himself for the hit. He flinched when he heard the loud boom, the cold numbness in his body momentarily convincing him he was dead.

"I really am pathetic…" A familiar voice snapped him out of his daze. He looked up, along with the blond and gaped at the sight before him.

All Might had blocked the blow, savin the two.

"I told you the traits that make a great champion, but I see now I wasn't living up to my own ideals!"

The two watched in shock as the man grabbed them by the back of their coats.

"Pros are always risking their lives! The true test of a hero!"

"Damn you All Might!" The villain yelled, about to strike again.

"Detroit...Smash!" He yelled, swinging his fist at the villain, and creating a strong gust of wind that nearly blew the two boys away as it had the slime. The villain yelled and tired to hold himself together before being completely blown away.

People from afar watched the great gust of wind blow up into the air before shortly disappearing.The two boys the hero had held tight two had fainted, being set down gently by the panting hero.

He looked to the crowd, slowly putting a fist up. He stumbled for a moment before righting himself and putting a fist in the air. He showed off his signature smile, panting through the exertion.

He listened to the murmurs of the crowd, saying how he was amazing. He heard their gasps as it began to rain, clouds moving in and covering the bright sun.

"It's raining…"

"He changed the weather with a single punch!"

"He's amazing!"

While it seemed he had his gaze to the crowd, his shadowed eyes were actually looking to the smaller of the two boys. His interest piqued.

In no time the authorities were already packing up the mounds of slime, and packing it into a truck to take him away.

The media had surrounded All Might, swarming him with questions and cameras.

The two boys had regained consciousness shortly after the defeat of the villain, and had been separated for different reasons.

"You idiot!" Izuku flinched as he looked down, listening to the scolding of two heroes. "What did you think you were doing? You could have gotten killed, you almost were killed!"

"You should have just left it to the pros, imagine what would have happened if All Might hadn't shown up!" Kamui Woods looked down at him, his eyes narrowed.

"'I'm sorry…" Izuku muttered softly, bowing his head. Deep down he knew that was a lie, the pros hadn't been doing anything! Katsuki was dying! What else was he supposed to do? Just stand by and watch him die?

Meanwhile Katsuki had stood to the side, frowning to himself as he heard one of the pros praising him.

"Man kid your quirk is something else! Hey, be sure to head to over to my agency once you graduate, you're shooting for the big leagues right?"

Katsuki ignored him, irritated by the saccharine congratulations and compliments. His gaze settled on the nerd who flinched once again from the scolding he was receiving. He grit his teeth as he looked over the nerd, his eyes still a forest green.

He saw a bit of frost on his hands, they were shaking. Almost blue at the fingertips.

His mind immediately went to Aqua, how cold she was that night after pushing herself too far. No way Deku could do what she could right? It wasn't possible…

 **-SotP-**

Izuku slowly made his way home, shivering a bit. He looked down at his hands, the frost was mostly gone but it still left the lingering cold. He could also feel it running up his arms.

He felt some kind of happiness at the new appearance of a usable element, not that it could do much without hurting him like the fire. He had used it for a split second and now look at him, his hands looked like they were suffering from frostbite.

Initially he had wanted to apologize to All Might, for wasting his time. But with the hero surrounded by reporters there wasn't much else he could do.

He was halfway home, thinking over the sudden rush of power until he heard the sound of footsteps running in his direction.

"Oi, Deku!" Katsuki yelled, making him turn around. He panted as he came to a stop, glaring at the boy.

"Listen here, and listen good Deku. You did nothing, nothing! You didn't help me, I didn't need you! If All Might wasn't there your stupid ass would have died! You're just a Quirkless failure who wouldn't cut it as a security guard!" He growled for a moment. "I don't owe you anything!"

He quickly turned around, and ran off. Heading home, and leaving his friend alone.

"What was that all about?" Izuku asked himself, shaking his head before turning around. "Whatever, doesn't matter. May as well get back to-"

"I AM HERE!" A loud voice called out, surprising the boy.

"A-All Might?" Izuku asked, looking up to the blond titan. "What are you doing here? Weren't you with the press?" He asked.

"My boy, I am the Symbol of Peace. I don't stand for soundbytes, I stand for justice! Because I, I am All-" His muscle form suddenly disappeared into a puff of smoke, leaving a withered man coughing up blood and a teenager screaming in alarm.

Izuku watched him in concern, taking a slow step forward.

"Young man." All Might started, making him stop in his tracks. "I came here to thank you, and to discuss what we talked about earlier."

"Huh?"

"If you hadn't told me about your life, or jumped into that fight...like so many others I would have just been a worthless bystander. Thank you."

Izuku gaped at him before hurriedly shaking his head. "N-No, it was my fault he was there to begin with. If I hadn't distracted you he wouldn't have gotten loose, I got in your way. I wasted your energy and time…"

"Hold on young man, I'm not done yet." The blond man continued. "You said you didn't have any power, so when I saw this timid, Quirkless boy rush into such a dangerous situation to save another's life, it inspired me to do something."

Izuku looked at the man, watching him.

"There are stories about every hero. How they became great, and they all have one thing in common. Their bodies moved before they had a chance to think. No hesitation…"

Izuku could only stare at the man before biting his lip, looking down as tears welled up.

 _Just give up._

 _You'll never be a hero Deku!_

 _You know she didn't mean it._

 _She had meant it right? She wasn't just saying it?_

 _Little defenseless Izuku!_

He began to sob as the voices ran through his mind, again and again. Slowly sinking to his knees.

He had heard those words before, and even though they had come from someone who once believed in him they lost their meaning after so long. She had said it as a way to encourage him, as a way to have him walk down that path, hand in hand with her.

After so long she had let go and left him behind, her words no longer holding the hope that they had once given to him.

But this time...this time he _knew_ it was true. This time he _earned_ those words.

 _One day you'll be able to use a Keyblade too._

 _You'll get better...I promise!_

 _One day you'll be the one taking care of this world Izuku…_

"Young man, you too can become a hero."

He sobbed harder as his hands grabbed at his chest. A warm feeling blossoming from there.

It was a far different path than the one Aqua had been laying out for him. One she had seemingly left him alone on.

But it was _his_. It may not have been what his sister had planned for him, but it was his own.

It was now _his_ path, he got to choose this time.

He looked up at the man, a wobbly smile on his face as tears poured from his eyes

He may not become a Keyblade wielder in this lifetime, might not be the warrior his sister wanted him to be…

Somehow now, it felt easier to bear that fact.

He was going to become a hero on his own terms.

He sniffled as he slowly got to his feet, watching a smile grow on the man's face.

It was time, he figured, to stop looking at the shadows of the past. And to the light of the future.

 **-LotF-**

 **Heyo everybody!**

 **So, yeah. Did you guys really think I was going to give Izuku a Keyblade right then and there?**

 **Yeah, no. Our favorite broccoli will get a Keyblade rest assured...just not for a while.**

 **Before I address anything else I just wanna say...** **To the reviewer who realized what book Aqua was reading, I love you so much. I'm so glad that someone else caught on to that! It made me so happy when I found out someone else figured out what she was reading. The Throne of Glass series is my favorite book series by far!**

 **Okay, now back to a few other things.** **So, from here there are going to be a few time skips, between USJ, the Sports Festival, and the Internship Arc. I'm not sure if you guys would want me to sorta just skim over that or actually spend a few chapters on them. Since KH3 is so close, I had kinda wanted to get to that point where everything all starts to connect together, but I don't want everything to see, too rushed.**

 **And also, I'm, thinking of sorta making a side fic that would ostly be the highlights of Aqua spending time in UA and with Tensei and friends. Not sure if that's something you guys would like to see, but let me know your thoughts.**

 **Just a few days until KH3 guys! So excited!**

 **Have a nice day/night everybody.**

 **I don't own KH/MHA**


	9. Chapter 9

Training, **Exams, and a Festering Wound**

Izuku knew it was going to be a rough 10 months once he saw what project All Might had in store for him.

It also didn't help when the man sat on top of already heavy things in his muscled form. Making it even heavier.

"Hey kiddo, it sure is comfy up here." All Might grinned as he watched the young man yell and struggle to pull the fridge forward with the ropes he had tied around it. He sighed to himself when he saw the boy lose his footing and fall forward.

"You know kid, people move these on a daily basis. And they don't even have strength quirks." All Might said as he watched the boy sit up.

"Yeah, but there isn't an extra 600 pounds sitting on top if it when they do it you know?" Izuku asked as he rubbed some of the sand off his face.

"Nah, I've lost weight. I'm down to 560 these day in this form."

 _My point still kinda stands though…_

"So, why exactly do you have me cleaning up trash on the beach? I thought you were going to give me your quirk." Izuku tilted his head in confusion.

"You wouldn't be able to handle the force of my quirk." All Might said simply, as if it was obvious.

"B-But I thought you said I was worthy!" Izuku cried, screaming in alarm, afraid he had already failed somehow.

All Might took a few pictures of him as he got down from the fridge. "No, I didn't mean _that_. I meant that if I were to give you my quirk in your current state, your arms and legs would probably be torn from your body every time you try to use it."

"Gah! Are you serious!" He yelled, shaking his head and shuddering as he rubbed his arms. "Okay, so that means this is all some kind of training...right?" He looked up at the towering figure.

"Yeah, you see I did a little bit of research before I came up with this plan of mine. It turns out this beach used to be beautiful." All Might walked over to the fridge and knocked on it, making a dent.

"Oh yeah. But then the trash carried in from the oceans currents made this the ideal spot for people to illegally dump their trash. Then it just kinda grew from there." Izuku muttered.

"You see young man…" All Might put his hand on top of the fridge, beginning to crush it. "Back then, before quirks, it was the people who did things for the community who were considered heroic." He grunted as he flattened the fridge, blowing away some of the trash as he did.

"This is your first step on your path to heroism young man."

Izuku paled and looked around. "Y-You mean all this? Is that even possible?" He asked.

All Might sighed and stood up, walking over to the boy. "You want to go to UA, right Midoriya?" He asked.

Izuku looked at him. "Of course, it's where you went. And it's where my sister went, it has to be the best school around doesn't it?" He looked down with a smile to himself. "I know it's a long shot, but I'm still gonna try my best." He said.

 _Your sister went to UA?_

"That's the spirit fanboy!" All Might smiled, turning around to once again look at the ocean. "But listen, as I said being a hero without a quirk isn't easy. Sadly it's not fair, but that's reality. I'm sure you're aware that UA is the hardest course to get into...so-"

"UA's exams are in about 10 months!" He cut the hero off. "That means that I have to prepare my body really fast!"

All Might turned around quickly, pulling out a few papers. "No need to worry kid, I've got you covered with my Aim to Pass: American Dream Plan!"

 _Where was he keeping those papers?_

"I made sure to detail it so you'd finish the beach just in time. I also took the liberty of detailing every other aspect in your life too." He smiled.

Izuku looked over the paper, eyes scanning each line again and again. His meal plans, how much time he spent studying...all of it!

"Oh jeez, even my sleep is scheduled." He muttered.

"I hope you're ware young man, this is going to be really hard. You think you're up to it?" All Might asked, a bit of nervousness in his voice.

Izuku nodded without looking up. "Yeah of course. I have to work even harder than anybody else in order to get in, so I'm going to have to give it my all." He answered, determination filling his voice.

All Might nodded, impressed by his unwavering resolve.

With that, his 10 months of absolute hell had begun.

It had been slow going at first, but once he got the ball rolling the days seemed to pass quickly. Whether it be night or day he'd be at the beach, after school and on most weekends.

All Might had always been there, ready to oversee his training and encourage him through the pained muscles and hottest days.

In one of the two months Izuku had a few setbacks, ones he quickly overcame. He was eager, and hasty with his training. Wanting to accomplish so much in such little time, he would often forget to take care of himself in the process.

All Might had been checking up on a few emails he had been letting pile up when he heard a loud crash and a cry of pain. He nearly dropped his phone in alarm as he rushed over to the source of the noise.

He rounded one of the piles of trash to see Young Midoriya lying on the ground next to a bucket with a bunch miscellaneous items spilling out of it. He had been gasping in pain as he held his leg, eyes clenched tight in pain.

"Woah, woah hey kid what happened?" All Might ran over, kneeling next to him as he scanned the boy for any injuries.

"I think...agh…" He groaned in pain, still holding his leg. It took his mentor a moment to put two and two together.

"Young man have you been drinking enough water?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't...think so." He answered, trying to think back to the last time he drank a full bottle of water. He couldn't really place it. He knew the water was there, but he never drank it; always saying he'll drink it sometime later.

"That's probably one reason why." All Might sighed, slowly helping him sit up. "Just relax, it's a muscle cramp." He said, taking his pupil's leg and slowly massaging the cramped muscle. He watched the boy's face as he no doubt thought over his mistake, flinching in pain every once in a while.

They had sat there in silence for a short while, before All Might broke the silence.

"So, you have a sister that went to UA?" He asked, almost hesitant.

"Huh?" Izuku looked up, snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, yeah. She did."

"I take it she's a pro hero?" He asked, prodding a bit more.

"Y-Yeah. She's spends a lot of time away from home, she has to go overseas at times for 'special missions'. She's actually close to reaching the Top 10." He added, unable to hide some of the sadness in his voice.

All Might caught onto that quickly.

"I take it you miss her a lot?" He noticed Izuku tensed a bit at that.

He just nodded.

All Might watched him, seeing a glimmer of sadness in his eyes. An untold story.

"I just...I wanna talk to her. You know?" He asked, starting to fiddle with his hands.

All Might nodded. "Well it is reasonable, you haven't seen her in a long time. I'm sure if you were to call she might be busy with work. Every younger sibling likes to-"

"No I mean…" Izuku trailed off, stopping for a moment. "No, nevermind it's stupid." He mumbled, looking down.

All Might frowned, was there some bad blood between the two? Or perhaps did this negative feeling feel one-sided to the child?

"Your feelings aren't stupid young man. You can't change how you feel about something or someone in a heartbeat. I'm sure your feelings aren't as ridiculous as you feel they are." He smiled softly, removing his hands from the young man's leg. "Feel a bit better?"

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, a bit." He slowly got up and stretched out his leg. "All right, time to get back to work." He said, looking at the trash he dropped. Before he could get back to work he was grabbed by the back of his shirt.

"Not before you drink some water Young Midoriya."

 **-LotF-**

4 more months had passed by like they were nothing. In that time he had gotten quite a bit done on the beach. He felt like he had made a small dent in the landscape of trash, despite All Might saying he was making good progress.

The two had gotten used to each other within those 6 months, knowing which subjects not to talk about. When to push or say certain words and when not to.

All Might had been thinking about what Midoriya had said that say. He wants to talk to her, and in the way he had protested his assumptions perhaps he had been looking at it the wrong way.

When he looked at Midoriya, he saw a timid young boy with no Quirk. Yet, there was a fire in his eyes that had been rekindled, as well as a kernel of guilt.

Why would there be guilt in his eyes?

Was it that it had something to do with his sister? If so, what on earth was the case with that? A promise to not go into hero work?

It left him with so many questions, and so little answers. His questions only grew when he had met with the boy one day.

He arrived a bit earlier than usual, knowing Midoriya would have gotten to work whether he was there or not. It was dangerous for him to be working there alone, and no matter how much he insisted the boy wait for him if he gets there early he'd be working anyway.

All Might stared at his phone before pocketing it.

"Where are you kid?" He asked aloud, pulling out his phone again and checking the schedule. Yeah, they were supposed to meet at 4 today.

15 minutes had already passed. If the kid was ever late it'd be by either 2 or 3 minutes from the exact time.

As he was about to shoot a text to make sure he was all right, he heard the sound of running footsteps before the boy suddenly shot out past him and nearly fell over from the momentum after trying to stop himself.

The startled man nearly dropped his phone, catching it before it hit the sand.

"Young Midoriya! There you are." He said, approaching the boy.

"S-Sorry I'm late A-All Might!" He apologized between his pants, trying to catch his breath.

"It's all right, it happens. Are you all right? You seem a bit flustered." He watched the boy stand up straight, still catching his breath.

"All Might I don't know if I can be your successor, because I am going to walk into that ocean and never emerge again." Izuku started, pointing at the water. "I think I'd be able to live a satisfying life exploring the depths of the ocean, you know. Not on land, away from people, and away from things you have to worry about and-"

"You're rambling Midoriya." All Might cut through his thoughts, looking over his pupil with worry. He looked tired. Was he getting enough rest? He knew the behavior of some people could grow erratic when they didn't have enough sleep. Was he eating well? He did look a bit pale.

"Gah! O-Oh, sorry…" He muttered, taking a moment to catch the rest of his breath.

"How about we take a minute and sit down, you look like you need it." All Might guided him to a clear space and had him sit down before sitting next to him.

The man let Izuku gather himself a bit more before speaking again.

"You know, I don't think you'd get very far walking in the ocean Young Midoriya." He chuckled after a moment. "I highly doubt you're equipped to be walking, let alone _breathing_ in the water."

The mentor felt a bit of unease leave him when he heard Izuku laugh a bit in response. "Yeah...I guess that's a pretty bad plan."

All Might nodded before looking back to Izuku.

"You mind telling me what's got you all panicked kiddo?" He asked, watching the boy take off his jacket in preparation for the training of the day.

He noticed the boy froze for a moment before finished shrugging off his jacket. He was quiet for a long moment before speaking again.

"It's my sister…" He answered, not noticing the man perk up with more attentiveness.

"Oh, is everything alright? He asked, concern rising. Had something happened to her while she was on a mission? "Has she been hurt or…"

"Huh? Oh, no no. No, she's okay." He put the concerns to rest.

"Then mind telling me what the problem is?"

"It's just...well she's actually going to be coming home next month after this next mission...and yeah." He trailed off, it felt stupid now that he was saying it out loud.

"Oh, I think that would be a good thing. Is it not?" All Might asked, following the boy as he started to drag an old filing cabinet away.

"It...is." He grunted with effort. How are those things so heavy?

"Then why do you seem so flustered over-WOAH!" He quickly transformed into his muscle form and grabbed the cabinet before it could fall on top of Izuku. Izuku ended up losing his grip and stumbling back, falling on his rear before looking up to see the muscled titan set the cabinet down.

Izuku huffed in mild irritation to himself and got back up before going over to the cabinet again and starting to drag it again.

The hero had transformed back to his thin form and stayed near the boy in case the cabinet would fall again.

"You know what kid, how about we take today off?" All Might said as he put a hand on Izuku's shoulder.

"What?" Izuku asked.

"You seem kind of out of it, and training when your head's not in the game will end up hurting you more than helping you. Besides, when was the last time you had let yourself rest?" All Might asked, hoping he'd been sticking to the schedule.

"Uh...I think on Monday." It was Friday, so that was a no. "But-"

"No buts. Come on, it won't hurt you to take a day off. You've made such good progress in only 6 months. Besides, I think you kind of need this kiddo." He smiled at the young man before he saw him sigh in defeat, though with a hint of relief.

"Alright, I guess." Izuku nodded, grabbing his jacket and putting it on again.

"How about we eat something at the small sandwich shop down the street? I've been meaning to pay a visit over there for a while." He asked, seeing Izuku nod softly.

They had left the beach and walked forward in silence. There was the clear air of curiosity and worry around All Might, and the uncertain quiet around Izuku.

He figured he'd give Young Midoriya a bit more time to gather his thoughts before questioning him. Yes he was concerned with the training of the young man. But as his mentor he was concerned not only for his physical health but also his mental health.

Thankfully the shop hadn't been very busy by the time they got there, and had been able to grab a quiet booth in the corner. After they both had gotten a glass of water to drink and placed their orders they were left in silence.

All Might gave him a moment to settle in before he asked. "So, mind telling me why your sister coming home would want to make you walk into the ocean?" He asked, making the boy snap from his thoughts.

"Right, my sister." He hummed, taking a long sip of his water.

"Didn't you say you wanted to talk to her?" All Might asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Y-Yeah I did but...ugh it feels dumb." He frowned. "I mean, I want to talk to her, but...but about something that's been bothering me. And...I mean why should she care she has a lot more important things to be doing so...so yeah but still." He started to rip up the paper napkin.

All Might silently slid over his own napkin and watched the young man unconsciously grab it and start to rip it up.

"I mean I think she had a lot more to worry about than-than a quirkless little brother right? I mean, she's off being a hero and saving the world from those weird creatures wherever they show up." He started chewing at his lip, this had seemed to be bothering him for a long time. How long has this been going on?

"And, I take it when you want to talk to her you want to address how you feel?" He asked.

"Yes! But...but it feels so ridiculous. Why should how I feel really bother me? When it probably doesn't even matter?" He muttered, still ripping up the napkin.

All Might had to use every ounce of willpower not to gape at the boy. Did he really feel that way? What on earth happened that made him feel like whatever he felt was invalid, not important?

The man swallowed hard before looking at the still stressing boy. "How long have you felt like this?" He asked.

Izuku stopped for a moment to think about that.

"I...A long time I guess." He answered, looking down. "A really long time."

All Might frowned as he asked his next question. "Why do you feel so afraid to talk to her?" He asked, seeing the boy flinch slightly.

Izuku said nothing as he stared down at the mess up torn up paper napkins, still only making more of a mess as he continued to tear up whatever he had left. He was looking for the words, trying to make it sound coherent in words as it does in his head.

"It's just...I kinda feel like I'm betraying her? I guess is the best way of putting it?" He started, earning a puzzled look from All Might. "I mean back then, it was her who told me I could be a hero you know? And I believed her, I had been looking forward to the future when she's be able to train me." He stopped ripping up napkins, his hands idle.

"And she sorta started, but after a while she had just started to pull away. And her words kind of lost their meaning." Izuku looked at his hands, he frowned at the light frost appearing, reacting to his emotions, he quickly shoved his hands into his pocket. "I don't know why...but I just started seeing her less and less. I know she's a hero and all but…" He groaned, it still felt stupid to say out loud.

Words could not explain how grateful Izuku felt when he saw All Might waiting patiently for him to get himself together long enough to spit out the words he had been burying for so many years. He tugged at his hair for a bit, trying to form the words.

"It felt like she abandoned me." He finally said after so many painful seconds, the words felt louder than they sounded. "It just felt like she gave up on me. And, I know she's a hero but-"

"That's no excuse to make you feel the way you do young man. She may be a hero but she is your sister, she's family. Family shouldn't make you feel that way, even if it is unintentional. But, why would telling her this make you feel like you're betraying her?" He asked, that piece still wasn't connecting.

"That...well...I uh...oh look our food is here!" He looked up as the toasted sandwiches were placed in front of them.

After the waitress put down the plates she glanced at the ripped up napkins.

"Would you two like me to get more napkins?" She asked, getting a nod from the elder as the younger patron blushed a bit..

The two ate their meals in silence. All Might was thinking about what Young Midoriya had said so far. It was no wonder why he was so desperate to know if he could be a hero. To hear those words from his idolized hero, it would have meant a lot.

But why, why were his words of saying he could be a hero so different from hearing it from his sister?

After they finished their meal Izuku had decided to head home. Feeling the need to study for both the written exam of UA and the test he has next week.

"I'll see you tomorrow All Might." Izuku waved goodbye as they got onto the main road. "Thank you for the meal." He bowed.

"Oh there's no need for that young man. A thank you is just fine." All Might smiled.

Izuku nodded and smiled as he stood up straight. "I'll see you tomorrow." He said again, starting to walk away.

"If you get there early be sure to wait for me to get there!" All Might called after him.

"No promises!" Izuku called back, grinning.

For some reason, Izuku had felt like some kind of weight had been lifted off of his chest. It felt liberating.

 **-SotP-**

There were three months left until the entrance exam, and Izuku felt ragged. He had been pushing himself harder, and harder with each passing day.

He had been staying up late at night to either continue his own independent training, or to study. Sometimes all he could think about was the dread he felt about his sister coming home. What would she say? What would she think?

He was running a few feet behind All Might, who was on a scooter of sorts, carrying a heavy item he had brought from the beach.

They were going through a mostly empty park in the city, more endurance training.

However, as they were halfway through the park he began to feel it.

Izuku had been listening to All Might chatter on about something, but as he kept running he noticed the world started to spin. The ground under his feet felt like it was starting to give away, one step after another.

The words of his mentor began to fade away into the dull ringing in his ears, one step after another. The exhaustion was starting to take over. His body felt like it was on fire as he felt himself fall to the ground.

There was a loud thud that made the man stop his scooter and look over his shoulder.

He looked down to see his young pupil lying still on the ground, his breathing ragged and labored.

"Hey, hey. Don't give up kid, what you're going to throw all those months of training down the drain?" He asked, watching him.

Izuku came out of his momentary stupor, finding it hard to move. He shuddered, and reached a hand forward, trying to grasp onto something solid so he could stand up again, so he could keep going. He had to keep going!

"Hold on…" All Might watched him struggle to move, like his body was made of lead. "You're overworked, which means you haven't been following the plan I placed down for you." There was a slight scolding tone in his voice as he watched the teen struggle further.

"Kid, that's going to have the opposite effect of what we want. You're-"

"Harder…" Izuku muttered, still dragging himself up. "I have to work...harder." He panted as he looked up at the man. "I'm behind everybody else, years behind. I have to work harder." He insisted, the exhaustion clearly evident in his face.

All Might sighed. "Young man…"

"I don't just want to get into UA, I want to succeed." He struggled to push himself up, slowly getting to his knees. "I want...I want to be like you." He panted, on one knee, one foot planted on the ground. For a moment the hero thought he saw wisps of ice at his feet.

The hero moved forward, seeing him stand up for a moment. "I-I want to go beyond. And so...I have to work harder!" He yelled. No sooner than he had gotten that sentence out, he had fallen forward and was caught by the man.

"I see…" All Might muttered. He grunted and changed into his muscled form. "Don't worry about it kid. Leave it to this old man to adjust your plan." He slung the boy over his shoulder and picked up the old item with his free hand.

Izuku was half awake when he heard him say that. "You're not old...All Might.." He fell asleep as the man laughed at that protest.

Hours had passed, the seemingly long day had finally come to an end. The sun that had sat in the middle of the sky was now slowly setting on on the distant horizon.

Izuku groaned as he opened his eyes, confused for a moment as he looked around. He hadn't recognized the area. The last thing he remembered was being at the park.

"Ah, you're awake." A voice spoke up as he sat up, holding his aching head. "Feeling better young man?" All Might asked as the boy looked around.

"Where…" He muttered, his eyes still blurry from sleep.

"I laid you down on a bench. I wasn't sure where else to go, I'd probably get lost trying to find out where you live kiddo." He answered, handing him some water. "How'd you sleep?" He asked.

"Still tired…" Izuku mumbled, drinking a bit of the water.

All Might nodded. "Of course you are. You've been overworking yourself, and you haven't been taking your recovery periods." He watched the boy nod silently. He sighed before he continued. "Give yourself a day or two to rest young man. Let yourself get recover before we start up again."

Izuku nearly spat out his water when he heard that. "What? B-But I'll fall behind! I'm already behind on cleaning up the-" He stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to the thin man with an expression of worry.

"You need to take care of yourself Young Midoriya. You're not going to get far if you refuse to help yourself, and push yourself too far. There's a difference between going beyond, and going too far. Understand?" He asked.

Izuku sighed softly and nodded. "Yeah, I get it." He took another drink of water before speaking again. "I'll try to dial it back a bit." He promised.

All Might watched him for a moment before he sighed in relief and sat back, looking up at the sky. "It's late, you should get home, lest you worry your mother."

"Yeah, I should." He agreed, slowly standing up and stretching out his sore muscles. Honestly at the moment he wanted nothing more than to collapse in his bed and sleep the entire week away.

"You think you can get home okay on your own?" All Might asked, fearing the boy may fall asleep on the way.

"Yeah, I think I can-GAH!" He jumped in surprise as he phone rang loudly, surprising him. He pulled the device from his pocket and looked at the caller ID. He went a bit pale when he saw who it was.

"Young Midoriya, is everything alright?" All Might stood up, having seen the boy pale. He looked at the phone and saw the ID, someone named Aqua.

Before All Might could say anything Izuku picked up the phone, putting it to his ear.

"Hey Aqua." He greeted, seeing All Might look at him in surprise.

"Hey, there you are." She spoke up, she sounded tired. She probably just got to whatever place she was calling home for the moment. "I called you earlier, but you didn't answer. Everything okay?" She asked, there was a clatter on her end.

"Y-Yeah. Everything's fine, I was just really tired and I ended up crashing." He replied. There was a long sigh from his sister. One All Might heard from where he was standing.

"Have you been sleeping okay? I don't want you to overwork yourself Izuku." She asked, sounding concerned.

"Yeah, I'm good. A few late nights here and there, studying and stuff." He replied, starting to pace. All Might watched him.

"Ah, you...you decide on where you wanna go? Still set on UA?" She asked.

"Of course." He nodded, still pacing.

"...So, Izuku. I actually wanted to talk to you about a few things." She said after a moment, the clatter heard again.

"Yeah?" He asked, fiddling with his charm.

"Is...does your magic still hurt you? When you-"

"Subject change." Izuku said, cutting her off.

The two made a rule a long time ago, when Aqua had gotten busy with missions, and Izuku got a phone of his own. They would call each other and talk, and when a subject they didn't want to talk about come up they say 'subject change'. They could only use it once in a conversation. And no, hanging up and redialing didn't count as a 'new' conversation.

"Using that a bit early huh?" She asked, a hint of sadness in her voice. She sighed and moved on. "Alright...moving on I guess." There was another clatter on her end and a raised eyebrow from Izuku.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm making an attempt at dinner, ramen noodles, yum." She laughed.

"Be sure not to burn the water." Izuku said, getting a 'hey' from the other end.

"Well I can't exactly go out, not tonight…" She sighed after a moment. "So, moving onto the next thing. Izuku, I need you to be careful. Things have been getting a bit chaotic all over the place." She sounded serious.

"Huh?"

"Those creatures, they've been multiplying as of recently. I think something might be going on...and I don't want you getting hurt." She said softly.

"I'll be fine. There haven't been any sightings around here."

"But that doesn't mean they won't appear. Izuku...y-you can't defend yourself against those things. I don't want you getting hurt, or worse."

Izuku frowned at that, he bit his lip to bite back a snap. He felt a painful itch, a burning underneath his skin.

"Yeah well, I think I'll be fine. So, I take it you're not coming home?" He asked, coming off a bit more irritated than he meant to. He winced a bit after that response.

"...No. No I'm not going to be home for a little while more. Maybe next month."

"Or the one after that?" Izuku sighed. "Or even the one after that?"

He heard a small huff from her. "Is there something you want to tell me?" She asked.

"No. No there isn't I'm just...I'm...I'm fine. Listen, I have to get back to studying. I'll talk to you later okay?"

There was a noise of confirmation from her and he quickly hung up, pocketing the phone. He didn't look at All Might as he gathered himself.

"Are you alright my boy?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm good." He looked at the sky with a sigh. "I'm gonna head home. I'll see you in a day or two." He sighed softly.

Without a word he treaded home silently as the sun set. Casting a long shadow behind him.

"I'm not helpless…" He muttered to himself. "I'm not…not anymore."

 **-LotF-**

He had a month left, time was ticking and he was starting to stress out. It felt like he still had so much left to clean up, it felt like he's made _no progress_.

He was dragging a bag of old trash across the way, trying to make his way across the beach as quickly as possible. It probably wouldn't me long before All Might had him do swim laps again, or run laps around the beach again.

He dragged the bag up the stairs and quickly put it onto the back of the truck All Might owns, and uses to dispose of the trash properly. He was about to run back to another trash pile when All Might called him over.

"Young Midoriya!" The man walked over, meeting his pupil halfway. "It's half past noon, perhaps we should eat something. It's not good to skip meals."

Izuku shook his head, panting. "N-No...No I'm…" His stomach betrayed him with a loud growl, making his mentor raise an eyebrow.

"Ok, okay maybe I _could_ go for something to eat." He admitted, standing up straight as he took a deep breath.

All Might nodded, glad the young man was seeing reason. "Alright, how about-"

"Maybe, you could pick something up? I mean...it might be more effective to eat here. So we can get back to work, right after eating of course." Izuku suggested, fiddling with his hands.

All Might looked over the young man, then looked over the remaining trash. He was a bit behind, and he could see it starting to stress him out. But it'd be no use in trying to get him to unwind over lunch, it would just eat away at him and make him even more anxious to get to the beach.

"Fine." All Might conceded. "But I want you to take this time to cool down, drink some water, and don't move around any trash without supervision. Understand?"

"Yes sir!"

Izuku watched him walk away and sat down after a moment. He sighed and held his head as he looked at the beach. There were still a few trash piles that he had been having a hard time to get through.

Almost no time passed before he got up and started to pace, unable to sit still. He was already itching to get back out there and get as much done as he could. He had already made his way back on the sand with his pacing, slowly getting closer to the water that soothed him in a way.

"I'm behind, I'm not moving fast enough. The deadline is going to be here before you know it, and you'll _still_ be far from finished. But All Might doesn't want you to do anything without supervision, afterall you almost got crushed by a filing cabinet. A filing cabinet!" He was lost in his thoughts as water splashed at his feet, somewhat pulling him from his thoughts and making him realize his hands were starting to let of a few sparks.

He grunted, and was about to snuff out the power when he paused. Maybe he could actually _try_ to use it? It's been a while since he's actually tried to use the magic that only harmed him. Maybe now that he was training he could have a better control over it?

He drew his lips into a thin line and shook his hands, dispersing the sparks. He kneeled down, water splashing onto his knees as he held out his hands, a bit nervous.

He held out his hands, closing his eyes. He slowly dipped into the shallow pool of power that had grown little by little as he grew up. He bit his lip as he felt a heat starting to emanate from his hands, the flame not quite there yet.

He pushed it a bit further, grunting as he felt a bit of pain from his hands, slowly travelling up his arms. He opened his eyes and yelped in surprise, seeing the flames burning at his hands and at his sleeves.

He let out a strangled yell as he felt the agonizing burning, it was hurting him again. In his panic he tried to quell the flames but only succeeded in making them flare out. He quickly doused out the flames with the ocean water, sighing in relief at the cool water.

He waited for a moment before taking his arms out of the water, looking over the damage. His hands got the worse of the burns, causing a bit of pain as he slightly flexed them. His arms were mostly unscathed, just a few minor burns.

He bit his lip, and stared at his hands as he tried to summon a light frost over his hands. Instead he iced most of his hands over. It somewhat soothed his burns, but it got uncomfortable real quick.

He bit his lip and paced as he tried to thaw the ice, he kept dipping his hands into the salt water; trying to get it to thaw faster.

"Come on...Come on…" He muttered, growing increasingly frustrated. It had felt like forever before the ice melted enough for him to start warming his hands. He rubbed them together furiously and muttered to himself as he paced.

"I should have known. Of course it wouldn't be any easier to control, _of course_." He hissed, looking at his hands. He couldn't help but feel defeated.

Part of him had hoped that maybe, _maybe_ the physical training would help him control his magic. He should've known better.

"No…" He said softly to himself, shaking his head. "No, no more." He clenched his fists. "I don't...I don't need this power anymore. I don't need _her_ power…" He bit his lip and shoved that power deep down inside him.

The same power that failed him time and time again, did nothing but hurt him. He silently shoved the power down, deeper and deeper until he could hardly reach it.

He wouldn't use it, never again. That wasn't his destiny anymore.

Never again. Not anymore

 **-SotP-**

All Might hummed to himself as he drove down to the beach, a bit of worry gnawing at him.

It was the day of the exam, and Izuku had called him in a hurry. Speaking in clipped words and hanging up without any answers. He quickly parked the truck once he made it to the parking lot and stepped out.

Before he could even take a step forward he heard a loud scream resonating not too far away. He grunted as he ran forward, recognizing the scream and began to worry if he was hurt.

He stopped in his tracks at the sight before him.

Above the beach, standing on top of a huge pile of trash, was Izuku Midoriya. Screaming at the sky as the run rose behind him. Sweat pouring down his face as he drew in another breath and screamed even louder.

"Woah...Woah kid!" All Might muttered, looking out onto the beach marvelling at it. It was spotless, there was absolutely no trash on the beach. "You even cleaned outside the area I had told you to Which just a few minutes to spare!" He marvelled. "You exceeded my expectations!" He suddenly gasped as the boy went quiet and fell forward.

He rushed over, going into his muscle form and catching the boy with ease, saving him from what surely would have been a hard fall.

Izuku looked up at him with a tired smile. "All Might...I did it." He said, being slowly set down. "D you think I'm ready now?" He asked.

"Yeah, I gotta say kid I'm impressed! I knew you had it in you, but this is going beyond!" All Might quickly pulled his phone from his pocket and showed it to his successor.

"See this?"

Izuku looked up, a bit confused. It was a picture of him, 10 months ago.

"Uh…"

"It's you, crying 10 months ago." All Might stepped back. "Now look at you, such progress you've made! It's a long road until you can inherit my entire power set, but it's starting to look like you can do it!"

Izuku looked down, feeling his eyes stinging with tears. "All Might, are you sure? Do I deserve this?" He asked, getting a confused look. "You...You put so much time and effort into training me." He sniffled. "How did I end up so lucky?" He looked up at his idol, beaming with tears streaming down his face.

All Might merely gave a laugh, wondering why on earth he would be thinking that after all these months.

"Young man, it was your hard work that did this, not mine." He patted the boy on the shoulder. "Now Izuku Midoriya, for your reward."

Izuku straightened up and nodded. "Yes sir!"

All Might thought over his next words and he plucked a hair from his head, looking down at the boy.

"Somebody once told me, there is a difference between being lucky and deserving. One is an accident, while the other is a reward. Never get the two confused. Take that to heart young man."

"This gift, you have earned it with your own valiant efforts."

Izuku looked at him in awe, before nodded and wiping away the rest of his tears.

All Might held out the hair strand to him.

"Now, eat this."

There was a moment of silence.

"Huh?"

"To inherit my power you've got to swallow some of my DNA that's just how it works." He explained.

"This, this isn't exactly how I imagined it."

"C'mon kid! There's no time. You'll be late for the exam! Eat. Eat! Eat!" He said, as Izuku yelped loudly in alarm.

 **-LotF-**

Izuku gasped as he looked upon the gates of UA, his dream school. The school of heroes.

The same school All Might graduated from.

He stood in awe for a moment before slapping his face and shaking his head.

 _Focus! You barely got here in time, you have to head in!_

He grunted to himself as he started to walk forward, think about his newly received Quirk. He frowned at himself and covered his mouth as he made his way forward.

"I swallowed the hair, but I don't feel any more powerful. Did not not work?" He mumbled to himself a sudden worry making his gut churning. What if it didn't work? What if somehow the power refused to transfer to him? What if he was going into this Quirkless anyway?!

As his worry grew and grew, making him ready to freak out right then and there he tripped over his feet, sending himself falling forward.

 _Or I guess I could die..._

As he prepared himself to get a face full of concrete he realized he had stopped, no longer falling. He made a noise of confusion and looked down, gasping as he realized he was floating. He started to panic and tried to get back on his feet when a voice cut him from his thoughts.

"Sorry about that!" A girl smiled, helping him back to his feet. "I-I guess I should have asked if it was okay to use my Quirk on you, although I guess falling down kind of would've been bad luck huh?" She clapped her hands together, deactivating her power.

Izuku said nothing as he looked at her in awe, seeing her look around.

"Wow, it's really nerve wracking to be here huh? Makes you kind of nervous." She laughed nervously. "Well, good luck out there, I guess I'll see you later!" She waved and walked off.

Izuku stayed silent for a moment before smiling to himself. "I talked to a girl!" He exclaimed quietly.

"Stupid Deku." He flinched as he heard an all too familiar voice, looking over his shoulder to see Katsuki glaring daggers at him.

"Get out of my way before I set you on fire nerd!"

"O-Oh! Hey, good morning!" He stammered putting his hands up as Katsuki walked past him.

"Hurry your ass up nerd! Before I throw you in there!" He yelled over his shoulder.

Izuku nodded quickly, and started to make his way forward. Trailing behind Katsuki, a few feet away. Fearful to incur his wrath over the smallest thing.

It didn't take them long to get their things and settle down in a large auditorium, able to squeeze into a few seats before the entire room filled up.

There was a bit of chatter and talk between a few people as they looked around, wondering when the presentation would start. Meanwhile Izuku looked over the papers they were given, their own examinee number and a paper outlining four types of enemies.

Katsuki studied the paper beside him silently, glaring at it.

Neither of the two noticed the young man a few rows below them, looking over his shoulder time and time again. He looked confused for a moment, as if trying to recognize them. After awhile he shrugged to himself and went about his own business.

All of a sudden the lights went out, plunging the room into darkness. A moment later a bright light turned on, focusing on the stage and the figure standing there.

"Hey, hey, hey kiddos!"

Izuku gasped in surprise as the figure walked forward, revealing himself. "It's Yamada!" He said, excitement in his voice. Katsuki scoffed and rolled his eyes, remembering the times Aqua had him and his friends over for study sessions.

"Welcome everybody to UA, thanks for tunin' into me, your school DJ. Now lemme hear ya!"

He turned his head and put an ear to the crowd, expecting to hear a loud cheer. Only met with silence.

"Well it's nice to see he hasn't lost any of his energy over the years. Still as lively as ever." He smiled.

"Loudass cockatoo." Katsuki grumbled.

"Keeping it mellow I see. Well that's cool, I'll just skip to the main show. Let's have a chat about the practical exam, and how it's gonna go down 'kay?"

"Are you all ready? Yeah!" He yelled loudly, trying to get them all hyped up. Once again he was met with silence.

Izuku grinned. "It's so good to see him again. You think he's going to be one of our teachers? You think he'll recognize us from back then?" Izuku had begun to mumble to himself, much to the irritation of Katsuki.

"Will you shut up?"

"Like your application says, you're gonna be conducting 10 minute mock battles in these hip urban areas that we've set up for you! Get ready, cause once I drop this mic you're all gonna be heading over your designated battle centers sound good?"

Katsuki frowned. "I see, they're spitting us up so we can't work with any of our friends." He huffed, looking at his card that said Center A. Meanwhile Izuku's card said Center B.

"Get your eyes off my card before I blow you up Deku." Katsuki hissed, making Izuku nod quickly and look down.

"Damn it…" He muttered, narrowing his eyes. "I was looking forward to kicking your ass." He mumbled, but it sounded almost half hearted.

"Huh?" Izuku looked at him.

"You heard me loser!"

"Alrighty kiddos, let's take a look at your targets. There are three types of these faux villains you gotta face off with. Each one grants you a different amount of points based on the difficulty." As he spoke the screen displayed three types of robots. Their value of points above them.

"Your goal in this trial is to raise your score by using your Quirk for shredding these villains like a mid-song guitar solo! But check it, be sure to keep things heroic and not attack any of your fellow examinees!"

All of a sudden a young man spoke up, standing up.

"Excuse me sir but I have a question." He spoke clearly.

Izuku looked up, he sounded familiar.

"Hit me!"

A spotlight sone on him.

"On the printout, You have listed four types of villains, not three. With all respect, if this is an error on official UA materials it is shameful. We are exemplary students, we expect the best from Japan's most notable school. A mistake such as this won't do."

He turned around.

"And you, with the unkempt hair." He pointed at Izuku, who gasped. No wonder he sounded so familiar. "You've been muttering this...whole...time…" He stopped after a moment, squinting at him. After a second he continued. "Stop that. Some of us are trying to pay attention." he spoke firmly.

Izuku covered his mouth. "Sorry…" He mumbled, looking up at him. Before he sat down he saw his old friend give him a smile before facing forward again.

"Alright alright, examinee number 7111. Thanks for calling in with your request. You see, this fourth enemy is actually worth 0 points. That guy's just an obstacle that we'll throw at you. There's one in every battle center, just think of it as a hurdle you should try to avoid. It's not that it can't be beaten, it's just that there's no point."

"I recommend you all just try to avoid it and focus on racking up those points!"

Tenya bowed.

"Thank you very much. Please continue."

"Now that's all I've got for you today. I'm gonna leave you off with a little present. A sample of our school motto. As General Napoleon once laid down, 'A true hero is one that overcomes life's misfortunes.' Mhm, now that's a tasty soundbite."

He grinned at them. "You ready to go beyond? Now let's hear a Plus Ultra!"

Once again Present Mic was left in silence. After a moment he spoke up again. "Good luck!"

Izuku smiled down at his paper.

Izuku looked up at the gates as he tried to ready himself.

"Alright, time to put those 10 months of training with All Might to good use." He mumbled to himself, feeling a bit nervous. He shook and smiled feebly to himself. "It's time to give it my all. To become a hero, just like I've always dreamed." He slapped his face, getting himself to focus before looking around.

"None of these guys seem nervous, are they really that confident?" He muttered, looking from person to person.

He gasped lightly as he saw the girl ahead, the one who saved him from his fall. He walked forward slowly, with the intent to thank her. Before he could get very far though he stopped himself. She looked like she was trying to focus, what good what it do to bother her now?

He slowly walked back to where he had been waiting. He shouldn't bother her.

"Hey look, it's that guy who nearly bit it out at the entrance."

"Yeah, he practically wet himself in the lecture hall."

"What a loser. Well at least we don't have to worry about him being that much of a rival."

Izuku looked down, hearing them speaking about him. Already he's been written off as not a threat. He grit his teeth and clenched his fists, looking ahead of him. Trying to push their words out of his mind. He was going to do this!

"Already, let's start!" A voice announced, stunning everybody for a moment. "What are you waiting for, get moving! Real battles don't have countdowns!"

"Run run, run listeners!" Mic flailed around, looking at the contestants. "You're wasting time heroes!"

Izuku looked from the man to the group that had previously been in front of him. Only to see them already running. "I'm already behind!"

"Oh crap." He muttered, taking off at a sprint. "Hey, save some villains for me!"

He felt himself start to panic as he ran, far behind the large group.

 _Alright, calm down. Calm down. You'll catch up to them soon and there's no point in freaking out. Besides, you've got All Might's power in you._

He recalled back to that morning, when he had swallowed the hair. All Might had warned him about the physical backlash of One For All. How he had prepared himself in a hurry, and to be careful.

He was quickly snapped from his thoughts as a robot crashed through the wall.

"A one-pointer!"

The robot had looked at him for a moment before charging towards him.

Izuku gasped and tried to dodge it, only to find himself unable to move. It was upon him before he knew it, panic overtaking his system. He gasped and put his hands up to try and block the blow in some way.

He felt a harsh jolt go through him, electricity along his skin. He felt something slam into him, sending him flying a few feet away. He yelled in pain, looking up only to see the robot was twitching violently before suddenly crumbling to the ground.

Izuku gasped and looked down at his hands, seeing small sparks. He grunted and once again shoved it down. He didn't need it!

He got up, groaning for a moment as he held his side. Probably bruised his ribs.

He coughed and started running again, he couldn't sit still! He had to rack up points! He ended up running past a blond kid who stared at him in shock for a moment. It looked like he had been preparing an attack.

"Six minutes and twenty seconds left!"

Izuku started to run faster.

 _Not good, not good, not good!_

He surrounded by the rubble of broken robots.

He looked around in a panic as he tried to find a way to get some points. Only to be met with piles and piles of destroyed robots. He grunted as he ran into another street, once again catching sight of that girl.

He stopped in his tracks and watched her as she touched robots as she ran running away before they could catch sight of her. As she ran they started to float upwards, and once she figured they were high enough she put his finger-tips together.

"Release!"

They all came crashing down, kicking up dust.

"Okay, that should be at least 28 points."

"28 points?!"

He heard a few more people announcing how many points they had, starting to fight over the villains.

"Hey back off!"

"That one's mine!"

"First come first serve!"

 _Soon there's going to be no more enemies left. I'm gonna fail!_

Izuku didn't get much time to panic before a loud rumble was heard, and something came bursting out of the ground! Making windows shatter, and buildings topple as it emerged. Everybody gasped and looked up at the beast before them.

Izuku yelled as the rumbling continued, falling over from the force.

He fell onto his rear, and looked up at the giant robot before him. He felt his limbs lock up, refusing to obey his command of running away to safety. He suddenly snapped out of it, still unable to stand up he began to scramble away.

"T-This is a disaster! I gotta get away and find some smaller villains. Crap. Crap. Crap! I'm still at 0 points."

"Two minutes remaining!"

He looked up in shock. He was running out of time!

 _Everything All Might did for me. All that training. His encouragement. It'll be wasted!_

He barely made it to his feet when he heard a loud cry of pain, making him freeze in his tracks. He looked back in shock to see the girl from before struggling to get up. Her leg pinned by some rubble.

Before he could think about it he was already racing towards her, and that giant robot.

After he figured he was close enough he felt something rush through him, immense power.

He grunted and suddenly took off into the air, wind rushing through the street.

He growled as he clenched his fist, pulling it back while his sleeve was torn apart. He raced towards the robot, feeling something deep inside him flare and push against its limits. It thundered within him, raring to go.

Izuku paid no mind to the burning sensation in his fist, feeling it grow more and more powerful as he ascended.

"SMASH!" He roared, his voice echoing through the battle center as he landed a single devastating blow to the robot. He watched as the gargantuan beast fell back, falling apart under his power. Fire following the impact, raging through the robot and assisting in tearing it apart.

In the stands where observers watched, a blonde man grimaced at the sight. He watched the flames snuff out no sooner than it appeared.

"Just one minute left!"

He looked up in shock and realized he had begun to fall. He screamed as he fell, his mind rushing miles a minute.

 _Okay, I jumped using One For All. Maybe I can use it to get back down too. Yeah, just like All Might! Landing should be a piece of cake, right? Right, right, right, right?_

He yelped with a painful realization.

 _I'm broken!_

He clenched his eyes shut as he shook his head, still trying to think of a way out.

 _Even after 10 months, I can barely contain this power! He warned me, I should have listened!_ _I got way ahead of myself taking on that robot. I'm acting like a hero when I don't even have enough skill to be a sidekick!_

He groaned as he raced closer and closer to the ground, desperate.

 _What would All Might do? What would All Might do?_

For a single moment he had thought, ' _What would Aqua do?'_

It couldn't be over, there had to be something. He gritted his teeth as a solution came to mind.

A Detroit Smash.

He figured it was the only way to save himself, with both legs and right arm broken.

He pulled his left fist back, trying to figure out the timing. He had to live, to somehow get out of all this and pass the exam. He had to!

He screamed as he watched the ground come closer, readying himself for the immense pain and whatever came after.

Yet before he even had the chance to put his plan into action he felt a hard slap across the face that shut him up. He gasped as he nearly fell to the ground, floating a few inches above it.

"And...release…" The girl mumbled, setting them both down.

Izuku sighed shakily with the realization that he lived. He looked up and saw the girl barely awake has she sort of hung off the piece of robot.

"S-Seemed to take a lot out of her…" He muttered. He gasped as he realized the test was still going on.

He grunted, thanking her for the chance he still has.

He was barely able to drag himself forward by a few inches when he heard Present Mic's voice again.

"And that's that. Time's up!"

A loud siren rang out.

Izuku would have bursted into tears if he hadn't passed out right then and there.

 **-SotP-**

 **Hello everybody, I'm sorry that I haven't posted in a while. I've been juggling this fic and a few others at the moment.**

 **I don't really have that much to say, other than a question. So, for the next chapter I'm thinking of either dividing it from the first day to the USJ incident. It'd be a longer read, and take a bit longer to get out. Or would you guys prefer it if I did it in smaller segments like the first day as one chapter, and then USJ as the next? They'd be shorter reads and probably come out sooner.**

 **Another quick question. Are any of you having trouble if FFN app? Or just FFN in general? I usually use the app on the computer (I use a chromebook) in order to post, but this time I'm using the website. Is anyone else having this issue or is it just me?**

 **Also, I finished KH3, and holy shit was it a wild ride. I did have just one issue with part of the story near the end in the Keyblade Graveyard. I'm not going to say anything in case you guys haven't played/finished it yet. But for those who have, I think you might know what I'm talking about. Other than that, the game the freaking great.**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys have a good day/night.**


	10. Chapter 10

****First Days**** **and Fist Fights**

Rest was something that was hard to come by for Izuku. Ever since the exam, a deep pit had been growing in his stomach, eating away at him.

After waking up in the infirmary, sore and exhausted, he trudged home in shame. He had said nothing to his mother who inquired about how he was feeling. He merely gave a grunt to her 'How did you do?'

He had been too tired to eat dinner, and slept the rest of the day away. Far into the early afternoon of the day after.

It had been a few days after the exam, and Izuku busied himself around the house with either cleaning, studying, or working out. Even if the room seemed spotless he had insisted on cleaning it again. Anything to keep himself busy at home.

For the most part he was stuck in his head, thoughts jumping from one to another.

 _I failed...I should've known I didn't have a chance…_

 _All Might probably regrets giving me his power, he hasn't responded to any of the texts or calls._

 _Of course he wouldn't want to talk to me, I let him down and he doesn't have time for a failure like me. All that time wasted…_

Whenever he managed to snap from his thoughts he would take notice of the mess he'd make. His hands could either be covered in ice, or sparks would be crackling around him. Or, if he was unlucky his hands would be covered in flames, and the pain of the fire would race through him once he took notice.

He would yell in alarm and quickly dampen the magic, once again trying to shove it back down within himself and forget about it.

Every day, as his anxiety got worse and worse, his magic would become more and more responsive, despite his attempts to keep it down. It would always seem adamant to rear its head and rage against him.

After a while, he was so unfocused he had begun to worry his mother on another level. Almost a week after the exam, Inko looked over her son and frowned.

"Izuku?" She asked, watching him. He had been staring at his bowl of rice with a blank face for a while. "Izuku." She said it a bit louder, trying to catch his attention.

"Izuku!"

"H-Huh?" He looked up, snapping out of his daze and looking to his mother.

"Izuku you're starting to worry me. You've been staring at that rice for a while now."

"O-Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine!" He quickly answered, starting to stuff his face with rice.

Inko sighed, watching him scarf down his food until there was nothing left. "Izuku, are you alright honey?" She asked, setting her bowl down.

"Yeah, I'm okay mom." He answered a bit too quickly, averting his gaze.

His mother frowned for a moment, and stood up. She walked over to his side of the table and pulled him into a hug, feeling him hug back after a moment.

"Ever since the exam, you've been quiet. You won't talk to me, and you just can't seem to sit still." She murmured, running a hand through his hair and feeling him relax a bit. "Stressing out about it isn't going to help you Izuku, I mean look at yourself." She pulled away for a moment and looked over him. "You look like you're hardly getting any sleep, and you've been forgetting to eat."

"Yeah...Yeah I haven't been sleeping that well…" He mumbled, looking down. He had no excuse for the lack of eating though.

She gave him a small smile and ran a hand through his curls before putting a hand under his chin and having him look at her.

"I know that waiting for your scores can feel like torture. But you did your best, and that's all anyone can ask for. Besides, I'm sure you did great."

Izuku said nothing as his eyes began to sting with tears and he hugged his mother tightly. Crying into her shoulder.

They stayed like that for a while, in the quiet of their home until Inko patted his back.

"Okay, come on. Help me clean up the kitchen, and then I'll make us some tea and we can sit in the living room and watch a few movies. How does that sound?" She asked.

Izuku nodded, wiping away his tears with a meek smile. He stood up and start to gather the dishes, making his way to the kitchen.

Inko watched him for s like g before gathering what he left behind.

"I'm _know_ you did great." She murmured softly, going unheard by him as he began to wash the dishes.

 **-SotP-**

Inko wipes away a few tears as the movie ended. She couldn't help it, the ending always made her emotional.

"Well, that was a good watch. It's been a while since we've seen that one, huh Izuku?" She looked over to her son, met with the sight of him fast asleep.

His head lolled to the side, and he held the empty cup of tea close. He breathed softly, chest rising and falling evenly. He looked peaceful.

Inko smiled and leaned over, gently taking the cup from his hands; hardly stirring him.

Even though the last 10 months he had gained some muscle, she couldn't help but compare him to a puppy. She chuckled to herself and stood up, kissing his forehead before putting their cups in the sink.

She came back to the living room and put on some nonsense show. Ever since he was a child, if he slept in the living room he, always needed some kind of background noise to keep him asleep.

She grabbed his comforter and one of his pillows, going back to the living room. She set the pillow down before laying him down with a gentle push, covering him with the blanket as he muttered something in his sleep. Something about Katsudon.

She chuckled to herself and kissed him good night, ruffling his hair as she quietly walked into her room and shut the door.

The Midoriya household was quiet.

 **-LotF-**

His world was dark, he had no direction, no idea where he was. He was lost. The only light he had was from above, distant, yet radiant.

He walked forward, the ground under him feeling fragile with every step. Yet somehow managing to stay solid and stable beneath him.

He felt...lost. There was no right direction for him to take, but there certainly was a wrong direction. He just didn't know where it was.

He did not dare to call out into the darkness, part of him fearful for what could be waiting for him. The other not wishing to disturb the air around him.

Seconds, hours, perhaps even months had passed as he walked. Time didn't seem to exist, it felt like it rushed past him, or at times it felt like it sat still around him.

He thought he was alone in the darkness, until a hand planted itself on his shoulder.

He yelled, jumping back in shock and backpedaling until he figured he was a good enough distance from the stranger. Who...who strangely looked similar to him.

Izuku looked the similar figure up and down, part of him growing sick that the realization that he looked exactly like him, in the sense of his figure. But he had no features to make note of, just a figure made of bright light.

It took him a minute to find his voice.

"Who...who are you?" He asked.

The figure stayed silent, watching him for a moment.

The quiet of the stranger made him feel anxious, sent his gut churning in fear. He swallowed hard and opened his mouth to speak again.

"Who are-"

"You know who I am." The stranger cut him off, his voice echoing into the void. He sounded exactly like Izuku.

The boy shook his head and took a step back.

"No...No I-"

"Don't lie to me. Don't lie to yourself!"

Izuku flinched at the volume, at how the voice rang painfully in his skull. Before he could have the chance to recover the figure grabbed his arm, a hot stinging pain raced through him.

"You insist on pushing me away, time and time again." The voice became low, almost angry as the boy struggled to free himself from his grasp, backing away as best he could. As he backed up the ground sounded like it started to crack.

"But you should know by now, that'll I always come back. So go ahead, try to snuff me out, suffocate me. It won't matter." He got right in Izuku's face. "Because you can't run away from me."

"Who are you?" Izuku asked again, loudly.

He was sure the figure would have frowned if he could.

"I'm you." He hissed.

Before Izuku could have any time to question what that meant he heard the sound of something shattering beneath him. He soon felt the ground beneath him give way, and he was sent plunging into the darkness below. The figure standing on air as he watched him fall.

"You can't run away from yourself forever…"

The was the last thing he heard form the figure as he fell, a scream tearing from his throat as he flailed around to try and find some kind of platform to grasp onto. As he dove deeper and deeper into the shadows he gasped to himself.

From afar, a bright light had appeared. Beckoning him.

He found himself reaching forward, to that light before he felt a harsh jolt through him. An aching, bitter feeling tearing through him.

 _I don't need you!_

 **-SotP-**

He woke up with a yell, sitting up and clutching his chest. Where a burning feeling had begun to radiate. Sweat poured down his face as he looked around, taking a moment to remember where he was.

"Izuku?" He looked around to see his mother stepping into the living room. "You alright?" She asked, walking for and stopping when she saw him. "Izuku you…"

"Huh?" He looked confused for a minute before looking down at his hands and yelling in surprise. Warm flames had surrounded his hands, and once he had taken notice the pain had started, the flames becoming more intense.

He flailed around for a moment before falling off the couch, the flames disappearing soon after.

He groaned, sitting up and looking at his hands. Thankfully there hadn't been much damage done to his hands, just a slight sting.

He sighed and leaned against the couch before he was handed a small ice pack.

"Thanks mom…" He mumbled, the ice a quick relief. He stood up, looking around. He had to remind himself that he had fallen asleep in the living room. He itched to remember what had startled him awake, a dream that was quickly fleeting.

"You alright?" She asked, looking concerned as she tugged on his arm, bringing him into the kitchen where she could talk to him and finish their breakfast.

"Yeah, just a weird dream…" He mumbled, a few details coming back, a few disappearing. He shook his head, still trying to blink the sleep from his eyes as he watched her pour something into a bowl.

As she had her back turned he furrowed his brows as he felt that _thing_ inside him, near the surface, waiting. Like the other times he forced it down, telling himself he didn't need it anymore. It was useless to him.

"You feeling a bit better?" Inko asked as she began to set the table, soon assisted by Izuku.

"Yeah, a bit better from yesterday." He yawned, pouring a glass of water. "What time is it?" He asked.

"It's about 8:30." She answered.

"Oh...a good time for a run." He said. He had begun to get sick of sitting inside all the time, not to mention now he knows with all his sitting around he was starting to worry his mother.

"Are you sure?" She asked, stopping what she was doing to look at him.

He shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, maybe I should get out…" He was about to head to his room to change when he felt a light tug on his shirt.

"Not before you eat young man." Inko said, with her 'no nonsense' tone. Izuku quickly nodded and finished setting the table before sitting down.

"You sure you want to go out?" Inko asked again as Izuku began to eat.

"Yeah...I think it might be better than just sitting around." He hummed. "D-Do you want me to get anything while I'm on my run? I may as well, y'know since I'm already out…" He began to fiddle with his hands, setting his cup down.

Inko smiled. "Do you want to?" She asked.

He looked down. "It's find of better than running around without a direction." He mumbled.

She sighed, grabbing a small piece of paper and writing down a few things while he changed. A short list for him which he took thankfully. Just a few groceries and a few other things.

"Some of those are perishables Izuku, so don't go running around with them for long." She sighed.

"Mom, I'm not going to go straight over and run laps around the neighborhood. I'm not that crazy." He laughed.

"Mm-hm." She raised an eyebrow.

"Really, I promise." He pocketed the list.

"Alright, be good." She said, watching him walk out the door, locking it behind him.

As soon as Izuku locked the door he had taken off, clutching the grocery list and the money she gave him tightly. He didn't head straight over to the small shop where they would usually get their things, sinstead finding himself running around aimlessly _despite_ knowing where he had to go.

As he ran he tried to think back to that strange dream that he had in the night. He could only grasp onto pieces, not the entire thing.

The figure, the yelling, the light.

He shuddered, rounding a corner and pushing himself.

Between the dream, and the worry about the exam still eating away at him. He couldn't rest, his mind wouldn't idle for a moment.

 _If I had to guess, I probably failed the written exam. And in the fighting arena I didn't take down anything except for that 0 pointer…_

His mind flashed to the robot that suffered from the electrocution after hitting him.

 _I didn't take out anything…_

He started to slow down as he came to a crosswalk, stopping to catch his breath as he waited for the walk sign. He looked at the list and money still in his hand, quickly pocketing it.

He looked up as he realized that the light for them turned green and jogged across the street, making his way to the store. He had decided to just go at a quick walk, looking around.

Funny, how it felt his world was teetering on the edge of crashing to pieces, _again_ , yet everything still seemed alright. The world kept turning, people still woke up, everything kept going. Heroes still did their good deeds, villains caused chaos.

He frowned to himself and nearly crashed into the front doors of the stores. He tripped over a few of the hand baskets stacked in the front, yelping in alarm and sending a small stack crashing down alongside him.

After the loud crash he scrambled to his feet as quickly as he could and tried to put everything back. He grabbed a basket before walking into the store, being met with the sight of a few people looking at him. Some were trying to hide their giggles, covering their mouths as they averted their eyes.

A few of the others didn't bother to hide their amusement or laughter, laughing out loud.

He groaned to himself and pulled his hood over his head, keeping his head low as he quickly walked past the people who saw his display of public humiliation.

His face was still a dark red by the time he was on the other side of the store, hurriedly stacking things into the small basket, looking from the list to the things he was grabbing.

"Can't believe I did that…" He mumbled softly, turning red again at the memory. He looked over his shoulder, seeing two girls looking his way and laughing softly, making him want to hide away.

He quickly walked out of that aisle and turned the corner, bumping into someone. He stumbled back a bit, hearing a growl of irritation from the person he disturbed.

"Ah, s-sorry." He looked at who he bumped into and paled.

"Who the...Deku!"

Of course it would be Katsuki Bakugo.

He didn't bother to say anything else, just grabbing something off the shelf and booking it towards the front of the store. He skidded to a stop in front of a thankfully empty register. He quickly unloaded the things and tried to ignore the loud yelling he had run away from.

He waited for the old man to scan the items at a painfully slow speed. He could now see why the register was open.

It felt like forever before the items were bagged and Izuku paid, flinching when he heard the fiery blond coming after him. A bunch of things in the two baskets he held.

Izuku yelped at the sight and thanked the man, taking off soon after.

"Of course, of course Kacchan would be at the store. The one day I finally decide to get out!" Izuku panted as he dashed, barely crossing the street in time, the vehicles that had stopped quickly started up, nearly running him over.

He heard a few yells from rolled down car windows, but kept running. He weaved through the crowd of people who had to stop at the light, who gave him a few looks.

As he ran he considered making a straight dash to his house, thinking he might be able get there faster than Katsuki.

"No...No he'd catch up to me easy." He muttered. "But he might be stuck with that slow register. And that might give me the time I need to-" He didn't get the rest of his thoughts out, crashing into someone for the second time that day.

He fell to the ground, careful not to let the bags hit the ground hard enough to break or squash a few things.

Izuku sat up with a groan and gasped when he looked up.

"Oh, hey. Look who it is, Midoriya."

His luck just kept going downhill. Figures he would run into a few of his bullies.

"H-Hey guys." Izuku greeted, scrambling to his feet. He instinctively felt afraid, nervous. But he was close to home, and it was clear he had to get back home if the grocery bags were any indication.

He should have figured that's not how it would have ended.

"Hey, I heard that you actually took the UA exam." One of them stepped forward, trying to make him back up against a wall.

"Y-Yeah...I-"

"I heard you totally bit it. Rumor has it that you got your ass kicked by a robot so bad they had to stop the exam for a few minutes to get you out."

"T-That's not-"

"Really? I just heard that he ended up running away from every robot that came at him. Heard a lot of people got a bunch of points off of him." Another said.

Izuku looked down, wanting to defend himself. But knowing better, if he just let them have their fun and say their words they'd eventually leave him alone.

He should have been prepared for a fist planting itself in the wall, beside his head.

"You know...I'm pretty sure a certain friend of ours would be making a certain point right now. What would it be?" He put his other hand under his chin, pretending to think for a moment.

"Oh yeah, You're Quirkless!" He yelled, laughing. "There's no way you can be a hero! What kind of idiot are you?"

"He was probably hoping he'd die in the exam."

Even with a Quirk, even with his new found power Izuku couldn't help but feel more helpless. His words would mean nothing to them, he couldn't even say that he had a Quirk now. They'd ask why, and how, and that was his secret to keep. Maybe he could say he was a late bloomer, but how likely is it that they'd buy that?

"Can't believe you're still trying to be a hero. First 'saving'," He was sure to use the air quotes, "Bakugo. You didn't do anything, if anything I'm more surprised that slime villain didn't off you the second it caught sight of you."

He shrank before the laughter, biting his lip as sparks began to silently hum along his clenched fists.

"Maybe Midoriya needs to be taught a lesson." One of the boys in the back cracked his knuckles.

"H-Hey, come on guys." Izuku found his voice again, putting a hand up trying to get himself out of there. "I gotta get home, so lets-"

"You really think you can run away? Wow, even more of a coward than usual. You usually just take the beating." He grabbed Izuku by his collar and grinned. It's been a while since he was able to beat on the kid, his attempts usually ruined by certain blonde.

"I-"

"Deku!" A loud voice yelled not too far away.

"Oh you gotta be kidding." The bully that had Izuku by the collar groaned.

Katsuki came storming down the pathway, two grocery bags in one hand while the other was letting off small explosions.

Izuku wasn't sure whether he should cry in relief or be on a new level of fear.

"Oh, hey Bakugo." One of the three bullies greeted. A grin on his face. "What's going on?"

"None of your damn business, what the hell is going on here?" He looked over the scene.

"We figured that we had to teach Midoriya here a lesson, I mean this loser _still_ tried to go for the hero course. Despite being Quirkless. You weren't around, so we figured we'd fill in for you."

Katsuki watched them for a moment, before walking forward and putting a hand on his shoulder. Gripping it hard as he made sure the heat from his hands would hurt.

"Listen, you shitty extra…" Katsuki muttered, a grin on his face that sent shudders through the other four individuals. The bully didn't get much of a chance to react before he was grabbed and suddenly thrown to the ground, almost taking Izuku with him.

Izuku stumbled forward, but was able to break from the grip soon enough to not be thrown to the ground.

"How many times do I have to tell you losers!" He grabbed the greenette by the collar, as the boy on the ground sat up. "If anyone is going to kick this Quirkless runt's ass. It's going to be me!" He yelled loudly, the hand holding Izuku's collar letting off a lot of smoke.

"We don't want a repeat of _that_ day. Do we?" Katsuki asked after a moment, a terrifying grin that sent the other three scrambling to get away. Izuku tried to struggle a bit, to get out of his grip, until he realized the others had run off and he was left alone with Katsuki.

Katsuki let out a 'tch' after a moment and dropped Izuku, who stumbled back without a word. They looked at each other for a moment before Izuku decided to break the fragile quiet between them.

"T-Thanks Kacchan. I-"

Izuku didn't get to finish his sentence before getting a harsh punch to the gut, sending him to his knees and coughing violently. The sparks around his hands crackling loudly.

"Still getting yourself into trouble Deku?" He growled, watching the boy slowly get to his feet after a moment, spotting the sparks at his hands. He grit his teeth, a bit at the sight.

"I guess…" Izuku wheezed quietly, stepping away a bit. Trying to put some kind of distance between them. Katsuki rolled his eyes and started to walk away. "Your shit isn't even under control yet?" He huffed.

Izuku gave him a look of confusion before looking down at his hands and gasping, before growling in irritation and quelling the power once again. A light, numbing buzz on his hands.

"Typical Deku." Katsuki shook his head and kept walking away.

Izuku watched him, frowning. He wanted nothing more than to just run home, put everything away and do a small workout. Yet he found himself asking anyway, the anxiety still eating at him.

"H-Hey Kacchan?" He asked.

To his surprise, Katsuki actually stopped.

"What you damn nerd?"

"...H-Have...Have you gotten an acceptance letter?" He asked, biting his lip.

He yelped as the blond whirled around. "None of your damn business nerd!" He shouted, turning around again and stomping off. "Get lost!"

Izuku watched him walk away before going his own way, jogging home. Thankful that nothing in the bag was damaged.

He made his way home, looking over his shoulder every once in a while. A small instinct he could never quite shake.

As he stepped up to the door, and put his key in the lock. There was a loud click, and before he could unlock the other lock there was a click from the other side and suddenly the door the flung open.

Before Izuku could ask what was wrong she pulled him inside, taking the bag from him and grabbing something from the counter.

"It came Izuku! It came!"

"Huh?" He gasped as she handed him a sealed envelope.

"Your letter, from UA!"

 **-LotF-**

Inko paced anxiously outside her son's room, hoping he'd hear the news he wanted to hear.

Meanwhile Izuku stared down at the letter, still unopened. The longer he stared at it, the worse he felt. Fear, anxiety, dread.

After a moment he decided to bite the bullet and grabbed the envelope, grunting as he ripped it open, a small circular item falling out and clattering onto his desk. He stared at it before gently grabbing it and looking it over.

He pressed something and a hum was heard, making him freak out momentarily before it fell back onto the desk. From there, a small screen appeared.

And on the screen was none other than his idol.

Izuku watched All Might give his signature laugh, right in the camera, only his face showing,

"I am here, as a projection!"

"All Might!" Izuku yelped, surprised. "Wait...isn't this from UA?" He questioned aloud.

"It has been a while, but with great power comes great paperwork." He coughed a bit before giving a small bow. "My apologies young man. You see, fighting villains isn't the only reason I came to this city. Nope! You're looking at the newest UA faculty member!"

"No way, you're working at UA?" He asked, surprised.

He gave a nod before suddenly a hand came on screen making circular motions. There was a bit of talking from the person.

"Huh? What's that? Who's showboating? All right, all right I'll wrap it up, but first I have to show him something first."

There was a bit more talking.

"Wait how I have to do how many of these things?" He asked, suddenly looking concerned. He gave an exasperated sigh after a moment, earning a small laugh from Izuku.

"Right! So young man…" He cleared his throat. "Even though you passed the written test you only got 1 combat point in the practical. Sorry."

Izuku's smile fell just as soon as it came. He looked down, clenching his fists.

"No...No I didn't...I didn't get any…" He mumbled. "I'm a failure…"

"But, fortunately there were other factors. But before that, I have yet another surprise!"

He gestured to a screen before pressing a button with a small 'beep'.

The screen cut to the girl from before, walking into a classroom, her student uniform on.

"Um, excuse me?" She stepped forward a bit, catching the attention of Present Mic.

"Oh, hey there, what's up listener?" He asked.

"Well, uh…you know that boy from the exam? The one with the really messy green hair, and all those freckles? Um, kind of plain looking?"

Izuku saw a bit of recognition flash in Yamada's eyes. "Yeah, him. What about little Midoriya little listener?"

 _He still remembers me? And based off that vague of a description?_

"Y-You know him? Oh, well...I was wondering if I could give him some of my points. Before he passed out I heard him saw something about wanting to get at least one point. But how can someone with such an amazing Quirk not have any points? But...he saved me. And I don't think it's fair that just because he wasn't able to take down a robot, he shouldn't get any points, especially for what he did!"

Izuku was taken aback by this, eyes widening. Much to his surprise, Yamada laughed.

"Thanks for checking in to the station with your request listener, but don't you worry. That kid is soaring on his own, no need to worry about him. Or yourself." He gave a thumbs up. "You did great!"

The screen was paused, and All Might seemed a bit hesitant to speak at first before clearing his throat.

 _Oh man he's gonna wanna know why a UA faculty staff member already knows me…_

"You see young Midoriya, you may have a Quirk now, but it is your actions that inspire others. You may have only gotten one combat point. But! You received 60 rescue points! You see, the practical exam was not only based on combat!"

All Might stepped forward again. "How could a hero course, deny someone who is willing to go so far to save someone, no matter the consequences to himself? After all that is what makes a hero. That is what my alma mater is all about, training those who would risk everything for the greater good. Those, are rescue points!"

"You passed the exam."

"This...Is this some kind of joke?" He whispered, tears building up.

"You have made it." All Might held out his hand. "Welcome, Izuku Midoriya, to the hero academia!"

Soon after the projection disappeared, and Izuku could only sit there. Relief washing through him.

It took him a moment, but he stood up and ran over to the door of his room and threw it open. Surprising his mother.

She saw his teary face, and her face fell.

"Izuku…"

"I-I…" He swallowed hard, tears pouring down his face. "I did it!" He yelled, a sob breaking through him. "I got in!"

Inko found herself beaming and pulled her son into a hug, crying alongside Izuku and congratulating him.

"I did it. I did it!" Izuku cheered, all his dread disappearing with those words. All that hard work really _did_ pay off.

He laughed and hugged her tightly, before he got a buzz from his phone. He stopped, and looked down to his phone. Seeing All Might asking to meet him at the beach.

"Who is that?" Inko asked.

"Huh? O-Oh, it's K-Kacchan!" He said, pocketing his phone. "He just wants to meet up, and talk about the acceptance letter." He quickly ran to get his jacket and shoes.

Inko smiled. "Don't spend too much time out alright? I'm making Katsudon tonight."

"Right!" Izuku pocketed his keys and and quickly ran out.

Inko watched him excitedly run out with a smile, happy to see all of his anxiety gone. After the door closed she walked over to the house phone, picking it up and dialing a number.

She paced a bit, hearing the ring tone a few times before she heard a click.

"Hello?"

She smiled, excited.

"Aqua!" She started.

"Mom? Hey, what's going on is everything ok?"

"Yeah, everything's great!" Inko answered, her pacing getting faster. "How is everything on your end?"

"Everything's good." Aqua answered, she grunted a bit and something was heard shifting. "Just about to get off my patrol."

Inko smiled. "Well that's good. It sounds like it's been a long day."

"It has." Aqua laughed. "So what's been going on? It's been a while since I've talked to either you or Izuku."

"Well, things have gotten a bit busy, with Izuku training himself and me doing some work around the house. I had to fix up a few things, I finally fixed the doors so they don't make those dragging noises anymore. I also fixed up the sticky locks."

"Izuku's been training?" Aqua asked, sounding a bit shocked.

Inko sighed, smiling a bit. "Yeah, he has. And, it's paid off."

"Hm?" Aqua made a questioning noise.

"Aqua, he got accepted. He made it into UA!" Inko cried happily, hearing a gasp from the other side.

"He did? That's amazing!" Aqua sounded ecstatic. Inko heard the sound of her armor, she was probably walking around, or moving something. "When does he start?" She asked.

"In about three weeks or so." Inko answered smiling.

"Oh, I'm so proud of him! Where is he? Can you put him on the phone?" Aqua asked.

"He's with Katsuki." Inko said. "He's talking with him about the test results."

"Maybe I'll give him a call later!" Aqua said, there was another voice on her end, sounded like they were calling for her. "Well...a bit later than later. I've gotta go, talk to you soon mom!"

Aqua hung up and sighed softly, and looked around at the debris around her. She had been able to keep the damage to a minimum, granted there was still a few broken walls. She was thankful about the zero casualties.

"Hey, everything okay at home?" Her long time partner approached her. They had gone almost everywhere with each other. Though most of the time he would stay in Japan, but the times he had gone overseas with her were some of the best times of his hero career and his life.

Though, he couldn't explain how happy he was to be back at home in Japan. Having just finished a large scale mission with her.

"Yeah." She nodded, getting up from her seat and stretching. "Everything's great." She smiled. "Wanna guess who's little brother made it to UA?" She grinned under her helmet.

He walked over to her. "Uh, mine?" He laughed. He laughed a bit harder and a light punch she gave him.

"Well, he probably got in too." She laughed. "But so did Izuku! I'm so proud of him, he's...he's come really far."

"Little green bean? I bet, I still remember when he was about yey tall. Wanna bet he's _still_ shorter than Tenya."

"Oh, I have no doubt." She giggled, sighing after a moment, looking around one more time.

"...Maybe it's about time I head home." She hummed.

Ingenium looked at her. "But you kinda _are_ home."

"I mean my home home." She looked at him.

He crossed his arms. "Then what is the apartment?" He asked, mocking offense.

Aqua shook her head. "My _family_ home home."

"Ah! That one." He snapped his fingers.

"Mmhmm."

"Well, if you want. I can book you a train ticket while you file this report." He was about to walk away when she grabbed his shoulder.

"Oh no, you get to write this report. I did the last two for you, you get to do this." She walked over to where she had been sitting previously and grabbed her weapon, watching it transform back to its original state with a bright flash.

"So when are you gonna head out?" He asked, watching her walk away.

"Maybe in a week or so." She hummed. "I'll see you at home."

A figure watched them from above, his amber eyes watching the two heroes. He smiled, having overheard the entire conversation.

"A young sibling?" He wondered aloud, crossing his arms. "Perhaps I should pay a visit."

He disappeared as the woman from below suddenly stopped, and looked up at the man previously was. She couldn't help but feel like something had been watching her.

 **-SotP-**

"Class 1-A...Class 1-A…" Izuku mumbled as he walked through the halls, a bit nervous. He was excited of course, but being in a new class, with new people, of course he was nervous!

"Come on...come on…" He mumbled, walking quickly until he saw a door up ahead. "Ah!" He ran over, stopping at the closed door.

He paled at the height, it was huge!

"Are there giants here or something?" He muttered, gripping his backpack tightly. He suddenly shook his head and sighed. "Alright Izuku, your future classmates are right through this door. Who you're going to spend the next three years…"

He grimaced for a moment, the thought of Katsuki being in the same class made him feel nervous. There was only so long those two could really be in the same room without something chaotic happening.

"Maybe he got a different class." He tried to reassure himself. Taking a deep breath and grabbing the handle, opening the door.

"Katsuki honestly, get your feet off the desk! We are UA students, and we should be behaving properly by not disrespecting the school property!"

"You haven't changed a damn bit Glasses." Katsuki laughed. "What did they do with that stick up your ass, shove it up further?" He laughed.

"I see you haven't changed either." Tenya huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

Izuku watched the two bicker, laughing to himself. He stopped when he saw that he had gained the attention of the two, seeing the shocked face of one of his old childhood friends.

"No way…" The taller of the two muttered. Making people raise their eyebrows and suddenly look to the door at the cause of the loud student's awe.

Izuku blushed at all the attention suddenly on him.

"U-Uh, hi! My name is Izuku Midoriya...yeah…" He coughed, looking away. Only looking up when he saw his friend quickly walking up to him.

"No way, Izuku?" His friend looked up and smile, while Katsuki saw him and gave a nasty glare.

The shorter of the two beamed.

"Hey Tenya!" Izuku smiled, getting pulled into a side hug and laughing lightly.

"I'm glad you're here, it's nice to see another familiar face." He smiled.

Izuku nodded.

"Oh hey, it's you! Falling boy!"

Izuku looked behind him, and gasped. It was the girl from before!

"O-Oh, hey!" He jumped. "N-Nice to see you again…"

"Wow, what are the chances that we're in the same class huh?" She smiled, walking a bit closer. "I never got to introduce myself rom the exam, my name is Ochako Uraraka." She held out her hand.

"H-Hi…" Izuku was beet red as he hesitantly shook her hand. "Nice to m-meet you."

"Oh man I can't wait for orientation! And to meet a new people and look around! I almost got lost on the way here."

"Y-Yeah...so did I!"

"Really?" Tenya looked at Izuku.

"Heh…"

"Oh man, I can't wait to meet everyone. All the teachers, other students. It's gonna be great!"

"If you're here just to make friends, then you can go ahead and pack up your things. Now." A tired voice spoke up.

They froze at the voice, and slowly looked down at the ground where it came from.

"Welcome to UA's hero course."

Izuku and Ochako looked down in horror, while Tenya looked in shock at the lump on the ground wrapped in a yellow sleeping bag. Even Katsuki looked up at the noise. It took a few seconds for the class to quiet down.

Izuku, Katsuki, and Tenya all had the simultaneous thought that he looked very, _very_ familiar.

There in the yellow sleeping bag they saw a man that was eating out of an applesauce pouch. After finishing it he grounded as he climbed out of it.

"It took you a total of 8 seconds to quiet down, that won't do. Time is of the essence." He grumbled before standing up straight and sighing. "Hello, my name is Shouta Aizawa, your teacher. But you will call Aizawa-sensei, or Mr. Aizawa understand?"

The three were hit with sudden realization.

"Shouchan?" Izuku looked surprised, only to get a harsh flick on his forehead.

"Ah man, EyeBags MeGee is our teacher?" Katsuki bellowed, standing up.

"You, especially will call me one of those two things." He growled at Izuku, then looked at Katsuki. "Yes, I am your teacher. Get used to it Bakugo." He looked at the blonde, who quieted down under his gaze.

There was a moment of silence in the classroom, before a few students started to murmur to one another. Wondering how they all knew each other. Already making a few guesses.

Shouta looked at them all before shaking his head, an gesturing to a small cart off to the side of the room. "All of you, grab these and get changed. We're going outside." He ordered.

Ochako made a noise of confusion.

"Huh? But, then we'll miss orientation!" She argued.

"You're all going to be heroes, you won't have time for the pomp and circumstance, and little celebrations you think you need. It's irrational and it wastes time. Now come on, we're going to be doing a Quirk Assessment Test." He said, heading towards the door.

"Make it quick." He ordered.

"Yes sir!"

All Might suddenly felt a chill run up his spine, putting down the book he was reading.

"Why do I feel like...something bad is about to happen?" He asked aloud.

 **-LotF-**

Once they had made it outside, not as quickly as Shouta would have liked, he dove right into the lesson.

"Bakugo." Shouta looked to the angry blonde, noting that he hadn't changed that much as the years passed. He was still the foul-mouthed little brat he'd see every study session at an old friend's house.

Katsuki looked up, narrowing his eyes.

"You managed to get the most points on the entrance exam. What was the farthest distance you could throw a softball? Without your Quirk."

Katsuki felt mildly surprised at that, he knew he got a lot of points but the most?

"I don't know, something like 76 meters." He shrugged, answering the question. He couldn't really think back that far.

"Alright then, try doing it with your Quirk." Shouta tossed Katsuki a ball, who caught it with ease.

"Anything goes." He pointed not too far ahead. "Just stay in the circle. Go on, don't waste any time."

Katsuki looked at the ball and huffed. Stretching his arms as he walked into the circle, readying himself.

"You asked for it EyeBags." Katsuki muttered under his breath. A big grin found its way on his face as he planted his foot and wound up the throw.

"Die!" He yelled, feeling the heat around him as the ball went flying with the loud boom. He straightened up and watched the ball soar for a while before it began to fall.

"All of you need to know your maximum capabilities." His expression didn't change as he saw the distance. He turned to them and showed them the number, earning a few gasps. "It's the most rational way of figuring out your potential as a pro hero."

"No way...705 meters."

"This looks like fun!"

"Yeah, now we're talking! We get to use our Quirks as much as we want!"

Shouta raised an eyebrow. "So this looks like fun?" He stepped forward. "You have three years to become a hero, you think it's all gonna be games and play time?"

He saw a few students flinch as he grinned. "Idiots. Today you will compete in eight physical tests to gauge your potential. Whoever comes in last has none, and will be expelled immediately."

They all looked at him in shock.

Shouta took notice of a certain green haired student who looked down at his hands, eyes widening as he gritted his teeth to stop a few sparks from going haywire. It took a moment before they died down, but the nerves and anxiety were clearly still there.

He raised an eyebrow.

 _Oh, this should be interesting…._

He saw one of the students step forward, worry on her face.

"You can't send one of us home, we just got here!" She argued. "Even if it wasn't the first day, that isn't fair!"

"Oh and are natural disasters fair? A civilian getting caught in the crossfires? Catastrophic accidents that wipe out whole cities? Power hungry villains? No. This world is full of unfairness, and as a hero it will be your job to combat that unfairness. If you wanna be a pro, then you have to be ready to push yourself to the brink. For the next three years, UA will throw one terrible hardship after another at you. So you go beyond. Plus Ultra-style."

He grinned at them, knowing how it sent chills up their spines.

"So come on, show me that it's no mistake you're here."

Katsuki grinned, and readied himself. Telling himself he was going to blow everyone away.

"Let the games begin."

Shouta watched each student go through the tests, each one proving one's strength, and their own weakness in certain tests. Some were more in their element of speed, some strength, agility, other various situations.

He couldn't help but notice there was always one student lagging behind, always in last place. It was the same one every time.

It was painful to watch each time, it was a pity, it really was. From what he had seen from the videos of the practical exam, he really _did_ have a lot of potential.

With every challenge, he tried his best. That was true, but the thing that really caught his eye was the small frost, dull sparks, or flickering flame around his hands. Everytime he would take notice, and everytime he would look a bit frustrated before making them disappear.

He couldn't help but feel that it'd cause trouble later on.

They had finally gotten to the ball toss, the third to last event for them. Going last was Midoriya, who was holding the ball in both hands.

"Alright, go." Shouta muttered, watching him closely.

Izuku swallowed hard as he faced the field, his thoughts running a mile a minute.

Katsuki grinned, knowing he was going to fail anyway.

Shouta tensed as he watched Izuku wind up, seeing him tense up as he sent the power through his right arm. Just as he was about to throw it he activated his quirk, cancelling it out.

The ball didn't get that far, making the boy look down at his arm in shock and alarm.

"You plan on breaking your arm?" Shouta asked, seeing Izuku whirl around.

"W-What?"

"You want to be a hero, but what kind of hero do you expect to be if you break an arm after a single punch?" He walked forward, keeping his quirk activated. "You expect someone to be there to protect your broken body in the middle of battle? While they could be taking down a villain, or rescuing other civilians? After one blow, you'd be useless; unable to do anything."

"You're not ready, you don't have control over your power yet. _Any_ of it."

His scarf floated around him, some of it looked like it was about to wrap around the boy. Only to surprise him as it wrapped around him tightly and pulled him closer.

"Your power, won't help you become a hero Izuku Midoriya." He scoffed. "You actually remind me of two people I know. Always rushing in with brute courage, thinking you can do anything despite the consequence it'll have on yourself. Reckless passion, overzealous."

"N-No...No I-" He gasped as Shouta deactivated his quirk after what felt like forever. His hair and scarf settling down.

"I gave you back your Quirk. Go ahead and take your second throw, get this over with." Shouta glowered, walking back to where the other students were.

He heard a snort from the explosive blond, crossing his arms.

Shouta watched as he looked down, muttering to himself as he no doubt tried to think of a way to get out of this issue.

It had taken some time before the boy looked up again, determination, yet self doubt in his eyes as he stepped forward and wound up again, teeth grit and eyes focused. He yelled as he threw the ball, sending the ball flying through the sky. Wind rushing past everyone. There were a few flames trailing after the ball, rushing alongside it.

His eyes widened as he looked over the boy, the wind settling down after a moment. There was a beep from his device, and he looked down 705 meters.

Katsuki looked floored, looking at his childhood friend in shock, eye twitching.

 _How the hell did he do that?_

He looked up to see Izuku a bit frustrated, glaring at the flames. He winced after a moment and looked down at his hand, a small smile on his face as he turned to Shouta.

"See? I'm still standing, _Shouchan_." He bit his lip, his hand twitching in pain a bit.

Shouta watched him, seeing him shake and tremble a bit. He grinned at the teary eyes boy. Ever the crybaby.

 _This kid…_

"Deku!" The class turned its attention the loudest student who had explosions raging from his hands as he dashed towards the greenette.

Izuku looked up.

"How the hell did you do that you little bastard!" He screamed, running faster. "You better tell me right now or I'll kill you!"

Izuku screamed and was about to take off running, only to suddenly be bound in a tough cloth alongside Katsuki who was yelling and screaming, trying to get free.

"What the...hell is your stupid scarf made of Eyebags?" Katsuki growled at the unhappy teacher. He still struggled despite the glare he got.

"It's a capture weapons made of carbon fibers and a special metal alloy. It's no use struggling, now leave him be Bakugo." Shouta hissed. "I didn't put up with it when you were kids, I sure as hell am not going to now."

Reluctantly Katsuki stopped struggling, glaring at the greenette in front of him. They stared at each other for a moment. Various thought running through their minds.

 _What did you do?_

 _What are you going to do?_

 _How did he do that?_

 _He knows something is off…_

 _I'll beat it out of him if I have to._

 _I can only hope he'll let this go…_

Izuku slowly walked past Katsuki before running over to Tenya and Ochako.

"Oh man, is your finger okay?" Ochako gasped seeing the purple, bruised digit.

"Are you alright?" Tenya asked.

"Y-Yeah, just kind of hurts." Izuku smiled, trying to ignore the glare he was receiving. Chills ran up his spine.

Izuku avoided Katsuki as best he could through the rest of the tests, feeling his scathing anger directed towards him. He stuck close to his two friends. He powered through the pain, and did his best through the rest of the tests. Giving it his all.

By the end of the tests, Izuku could only hope that his ball toss was enough to pass, to not be in last place. That was all he needed, just _not_ last place.

Izuku panted, trying to catch his breath as the scores were tallied. He wasn't the only one worried. He noticed that a few other students were worried about their own placement was going to be. They, like him, were probably worrying and fretting over the worst of their performances.

"You alright?" Ochako asked as she walked over to him, even she looked nervous. And she had done so well!

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Izuku answered, straightening up. He winced in pain, holding his hand.

"Alright, results are up." Shouta said as a screen popped up, stepping to the side as the students stepped closer.

"Midoriya...Midoriya…" Izuku scanned over the list, hoping to see his name somewhere in the bottom middle, anywhere but last. He was hoping, praying that he would be able to squeak by on the one good score he managed to get.

He felt his stomach drop when he finally found his name. He was right below another guy named Mineta.

"Whew, at least I'm not last." He heard someone sigh, probably Mineta if he had to guess.

 _Last place...I failed…_

He grit his teeth, once again he had failed so badly. Of course, he figured, everyone else was years ahead of him, he had barely passed the entrance exam with Rescue points, he was lucky they even had those!

"And I lied. No one's going home." Shouta said as he turned off the screen, a big grin creeping onto his face.

"It was just a logical ruse to make sure you gave it your all in the tests."

He kept that grin on his face as a majority of the class cried out in alarm, shock, and relief.

"I'm surprised the rest of you didn't figure it out." A black haired student commented. "Sorry, I guess I should have said something."

A few students merely gaped at her.

"Man, that was pretty nerve wracking." One of the boys in front of Katsuki sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Nah man I'm always down for a challenge." The redhead grinned.

"Alright that's it for today. Pick up a syllabus in the classroom, and read it before tomorrow morning." Shouta said, dismissing them as he walked towards one of the students.

"Midoriya, take this and have the old lady fix you up. Things are gonna be tougher when you're actual training begins."

After Shouta had walked away, and rounded the corner he was suddenly confronted by none other than the Number 1 hero himself.

"Aizawa that was a rotten move." He had his hands on his hips.

The underground hero couldn't help but roll his eyes. "No talk shows today?"

"A logical ruse? Cute, but you're not known for your sense of humor. I read your file, apparently you expelled an entire class last year. Kicking out students you feel have no potential, you have absolutely no problem with that. You really were planning on sending place home, but you didn't. Which must mean you see the same potential in Young Midoriya as I do!"

Shouta snorted. "What is all this about? Sounds like you've been in his corner this entire time. A bit early for you to be playing favorites isn't it? Although I can see why, I mean you first met the kid a long time ago." He sighed. "Of course someone like you would see potential in him."

All Might was taken aback. "A few...years ago?"

"He does have quite a bit of potential, I will admit. Kid always has, just needed to make sure it was still there. But if he didn't, I would have sent him straight home. It'd be cruel to let a kid keep dreaming of something that will never happen…"

 **-SotP-**

"So...tired…" Izuku mumbled, walking forward while he thought about the conversation he had with Recovery Girl earlier.

 _Izuku yelped as she kissed him, his alarm not lasting long as he noticed his finger was healed._

" _Oh wow, it feels so much better thank you!" A sudden wave of drowsiness had hit him. "But...I feel really tired now…I need a nap."_

" _Well dearie my Quirk stimulates your ability to heal, and healing takes energy. Just how the body works." She shrugged. "Get too many big injuries, and your stamina will be shot and you'll end up dying." She smiled as she handed him a gummy. "So be careful!"_

" _You mean this can kill me?" He yelled in alarm._

" _Mmhmm." She nodded. "Midoriya…" She looked over his file before sighing. "I'd recognize that name anywhere. Your sister came to UA right? Aqua?"_

 _Izuku felt something in him writhe, quickly quieting it down. "Y-Yeah…"_

" _Please don't end up like her dearie, honestly that girl was in here every other day pushing herself to the limit. One day she was covered in burns, the other was frostbite! One time the dear had to be carried in here because she paralyzed herself. Oh, I remember the time she broke her arm in two places after sparring with that Iida boy." She shook her head. "And once it healed she broke it again. Then the dearie offered to heal it herself, not realizing the toll it would probably have on her. Oh that girl was reckless!"_

" _Please be cautious, won't you?"_

" _Yeah...I'll try." He nodded. Smiling through that painful sting that seemed to resonate deep within him, an aching pain._

Izuku tensed as he suddenly felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder, he turned around to see it was Tenya.

"Oh, hey there Tenya!" He greeted.

"How's the broken finger?" He asked.

"Oh, it's doing much better, Recovery Girl fixed me right up." He smiled, starting to walk forward again.

"That's good." Tenya nodded. "You know, I never got the chance to ask. How is your sister doing?" He asked.

Izuku felt himself tense up. He wasn't sure how to answer, it had actually been a while since they talked.

"Uh...haven't talked to her in a while." He hesitantly admitted. "But...y'know. She's Aqua. I'm sure she's fine." He coughed. "H-How's your brother?"

Tenya stared at him for a moment before sighing. "He's good, it had actually been awhile since I've talked to him myself. Though the last time I talked to him he did seem very excited about something." He hummed, putting a hand to his chin.

"Should you be scared?" Izuku chuckled.

"Honestly, I have no idea." Tenya shook his head. "I've only ever seen him act this giddy around one person. But this was a new level of excitement even for him."

The two stopped in their tracks.

"...I think we should move onto another subject." Izuku sighed.

Tenya coughed. "A-Agreed."

"Hey! Wait up!" A voice called, making them turn around. "Are you guys heading to the station? I'll join you!"

"Oh, it's the Gravity girl." Tenya said.

"I think earlier she said her name was Uraraka." Izuku looked at him.

She stopped right in front of them. "Hi! I guess we never properly introduced ourselves huh? Didn't really get the chance to. Now, if I remember right...you're Tenya Iida." She looked to the tallest of their trio before looking to the second tallest. "And you're...Deku right? Deku Midoriya?"

Izuku felt himself deflate at that, everyone probably thought his name was Deku from what Katsuki had yelled. "Deku?"

"Uh, yeah. Isn't that what Bakugo called you?"

"Oh, well. You see my name is actually Izuku, Kacchan just calls me Deku to make fun of me." Izuku explained.

"I can't believe he still calls you that." Tenya sighed.

"Oh, I didn't realize that. I'm sorry." She rubbed the back of her head. "But you know what, I like Deku, it sounds kinda cute. And I think it could make a great hero name!"

"Deku it is!" Izuku exclaimed, his face bright red.

"Really Izuku, just like that?" Tenya protested.

Izuku turned away, covering his face. "P-Paradigm shift! My whole world is turned upside down!"

"Oh now you're acting ridiculous." Tenya sighed.

"Oh, you two are on a first name basis?" Ochako asked, curious.

Tenya looked at her. "Yes, we are. We've actually known each other since we were children."

"Really?"

Tenya nodded as they started to walk, grabbing Izuku by his backpack and guiding him. "Yes, actually our elder siblings introduced us to each other."

 **-LotF-**

Katsuki Bakugo most certainly had his flaws, that he would begrudgingly admit.

He's loud, he had a foul mouth, and it may seem that he talks a big game, but he'd always make sure to deliver.

He could also recognize that there were times where he was a complete asshole, sometimes it made him want to kick himself in the teeth when he took it too far.

But he would always remind himself that he was doing his job, that he was doing his part.

Despite his angry attitude, his seemingly cruel tendencies, and how harsh he would be towards everyone, he wanted to be a hero. Of course so many people around him would go on about his potential as a hero, how his quirk was so great.

And of course, there were those who regarded all the negatives of his person. They would claim he would be nothing but a villain, and that he had no room in his heart to be a hero. And even if he was, he'd be a reckless, crazy hero who left behind nothing but chaos in his wake.

As a child, it took almost all of his self restraint not to beat the ever living hell out of those who said that. Much to contrary belief, he _did_ see the little gestures and pointing at him. He _did_ hear the whispers and jokes about him being a villain. How he should be thrown in a jail for little kids like him before he did anything.

He ignored their whispers, only being encouraged to prove them all wrong. That he'd be the Number 1 hero!

And so, he always showed restraint...most of the time.

There would be the occasional incident where he'd lose his cool, and corner the unsuspecting kid with his lackeys. Whenever they asked why, Katsuki would always give them the same answer.

"They think they're better than me, with their 'useful' Quirk. Let's take them down a peg." He'd grin.

He'd never tell them.

"They said I could only be a villain, I'll beat that idea out of them."

"I want to prove them wrong, but I want them to hurt first."

"They made fun of Deku."

Always, he kept his reasons to himself. Putting up that front that everyone thought they were better than him.

After a while, he started to actually believe it. Eager to prove his worth, to keep his promise, to be a hero.

When he had seen Deku use that new 'Quirk' that had seemed to appear out of nowhere, the first thing that had gone through his mind was alarm.

 _How did he get that?_

 _What did he do?_

 _When did this happen?_

 _Why does it hurt him?_

It sure as hell wasn't that magic shit that Sis could use. He doubted that whatever she used could break her bones and turn a digit into an ugly purple like that. But he had seen the flames, how they trailed after the ball. How annoyed Deku had looked.

The one thing that stood out to Katsuki was how he seemed to be upset at the sight of the flames. Like he had not meant to do that. Even more surprising, the flames hadn't burned him as badly like they would as a kid.

Did Deku actually have some kind of control over his power now? Was that even possible for Deku?

Hell no.

After his alarm, he instinctively went to rage. Demanding to know how he had done that.

Of course he was restrained, and forced to let it go for the time being. Of course Deku avoided him like the plague for the rest of the day.

Fine, he figured, he'd get his answers one way or another.

He saw his opportunity on the first day of Hero Training.

"Team D are the villains! And Team A are the heroes!" All Might proclaimed loudly. Pulling the labelled balls from their respective boxes.

"Bakugo and Iida, versus Midoriya and Uraraka! Now, your scenario!" He pointed at the building they'd be using. "The villains are protecting a mock nuclear device, while the heroes are to secure the device. You will have 5 minutes to prepare, and 10 minutes to complete the exercise."

All Might then held out 4 rolls of tape.

"There of course will be conflict. And should you bind your enemies in the tape they are out."

Iida and Uraraka had moved forward to grab the tape. While Katsuki glared at Izuku, who kept his gaze down, before looking back up at him. No more fear in his eyes, determination replacing that.

Katsuki glanced over him one more time before scoffing, looking forward and grabbing a tape.

He said nothing as he followed Tenya inside the building. They had five minutes, fine. He'd listen to Glasses' blabbering, and then he'd take off. He'd get to the bottom of all this.

Katsuki started walking to the doors that led out to the twists and turns of the hallways.

"Katsuki, where are you going?" Tenya asked, stepping forward.

"Going after those two."

"We talked about this!"

"Get off my ass! The sooner we take out those two the sooner we can get out of this dumb exercise!" He slammed the door open, and started to make his way down the hall. "Keep the stupid weapon safe or something."

He didn't listen to the objections before shutting the door again and looking around. He growled as he could still hear Tenya from the earpiece, he had half a mind to turn it off. Right now he was just pissed off, thinking over Deku's new Quirk. Over and over again.

Rage building up. Had he been lying to Katsuki this entire time? Did he somehow obtain a Quirk from someone or something? If he did, why didn't he tell Katsuki? Did Aqua know?

 _I'll get my answers, and I'll do my job_.

He treaded down the stairs, and through the different twists of the hallway. Listening for footsteps, for chattering. Anything to let him know where the two were.

He didn't have to wait very long. As he heard a few whispers.

"Where do you think they hid the weapon?" That round faced girl.

"It has to be one of the upper floors. But right now we're at a disadvantage."

 _Yes, you are_

"How-"

He darted forward, leaping out from his hiding space to see Deku and that girl looked up.

He let out a large yell as he set off a large explosion. He had hit the wall, despite aiming for Deku.

He growled as a piece of the mask he had managed to get fell to the ground. Burnt and torn. He turned towards where he saw the two dodge, and swept away the smoke.

"Come on Deku, don't dodge." He looked down at the two who managed to get to their knees in that time.

"Of course you would come after me." Izuku muttered, getting to his feet. "Are you alright Uraraka?"

"Yeah but...Deku, your mask! Are you alright?"

"It's fine, just a scratch." Izuku assured her, watching Katsuki.

The blond grinned, a few small explosions going off in his palm.

"Uraraka, go." Izuku said, getting into a fighting stance.

"But Deku…"

"I'll be fine. Find the weapon, I'll keep Kacchan busy!"

"Bold words for a coward like you Deku!" Katsuki yelled as he rushed forward. He'd take down the nerd, then put her out of commision. Just so he had the time to deal with him.

"Don't worry Deku, I'm not gonna beat you so bad that this fight gets stopped. Just close!" He heard the sound of fading footsteps as he drew back his right arm to deal a blow. He had been expecting another dodge, readying himself to propel forward if need be.

He didn't expect to be grabbed by him. He didn't get a chance to react as the nerd screamed and flipped him head over heel, slamming him into the ground.

The impact was a lot harder than he had expected, making him cough in pain as the dust settled. He got up, seeing the girl at the end of the hall, stunned. But that wasn't his focus, right now he was even more pissed off if that was possible.

"Every fight, you start it with a big right swing. I know this, because I've seen you fight Kacchan! How much do you think I've been watching you? I wrote analysis for the heroes I thought were amazing in my notebook. That same notebook that you threw away!"

Katsuki got to his feet, watching the nerd once again get into a fighting stance. His eyes watering.

"I'm not going to be your punching bag anymore Kacchan, I'm done with that! Deku isn't the name of that scared little kid anymore." He grit his teeth. "Deku is the name of a hero!"

Katsuki narrowed his eyes, a few more explosions going off. "Deku…"

 _Stop hurting him Kacchan!_

 _I need you two to take care of each other._

 _I don't have a Quirk…_

 _He's going to die if he tries to be a hero!_

 _You need a Quirk to be a hero, everyone knows that._

 _She said I could be a hero!_

 _Promise?_

"Look at you, you're so scared you're shaking. But there you are, always jumping in, acting like you can be a hero." He muttered. This was his last chance, he could either make Izuku back down or he'd _make him_.

"When you're absolutely powerless…"

 _I'm doing my job…_

"Always putting yourself right in the middle of things that aren't your damn business..."

 _Kacchan, I couldn't just stand there and watch you die!_

"That's why…" He grit his teeth, more explosions going off. "That's why I hate you!" He roared, before using his explosions to race forward, bringing his leg up to land a kick on him.

"Go Uraraka!" Izuku brought up an arm, blocking the kick.

"Think you can take me alone Deku?" He grinned, he stopped when he saw the tape being used, wrapping around his leg.

He did the only thing he could to get out of that situation. With a loud yell he brought a fist forward, an explosion ringing out where Izuku's head was a moment ago. He was able to right himself in the air as Izuku got a bit of distance.

"You damn nerd." He huffed, looking to the side to see him. Izuku stood there, watching him, occasionally glancing to the side every other second.

"I heard a lot of explosions down there! Is everything alright!" He growled as he heard Tenya speak.

"I'm dealing with it! Just shut up and defend the weapon. I'm pissed off!"

"I wasn't asking how you feel!"

He growled and looked forward. He put his arms behind him, ready to launch himself forward. The moment he did that he saw a blur of green as he took off.

"Deku, you damn coward!" He yelled, going after him. He rounded the corner and followed the small bit of green he saw round the next corner.

He tried to listen for footsteps, but he found it hard to hear them over the sound of his blood roaring, his own pants, his own footsteps. Not to mention that he could hear Tenya muttering to himself over the earpiece.

Somehow, he ended up losing him. He growled as he looked around. Looking for something, a trail of ice, of small bits of torn cloth. Anything. After looking around for a bit, he went down one of the hall, knowing that somehow he'd find him again.

"I bet it was nice, fun even, to trick me all these years! Or maybe this is a new development." He yelled out loudly, trying to taunt him. To get some kind of response as he stalked the halls.

"Huh? You got a flashy Quirk now don't you! Even flashier than that magic stuff Sis taught you huh?"

For so many years he had tried to convince him that he was Quirkless. Yeah, he had seen Aqua's abilities, but it had stunned him to see that somehow Izuku had those abilities as well. Granted, it was just a sliver of was Aqua could do.

He always saw it, saw how he'd burn his hands, sometimes ice over the desk. He may not know how he was able to do it, but he'd tear him down until he truly believed he had no power.

That was the only way, he figured. Either he'd back down, turn his back on being a hero. Or he'd become stronger in some way.

It wasn't a completely sound plan, but with this way he figured it could go it could work either way.

It was bad enough he had failed once. With this way, he wouldn't fail again. He'd make sure of it!

He stopped as he rounded the corner, seeing the nerd a few feet ahead. He narrowed his eyes as he heard him whispering softly.

"Where are you?" He asked, oblivious to the enemy behind him.

Katsuki eyed the capture tape, how Izuku held it tightly in his hands. He was hoping to end this fight _that_ way.

"Alright, just keep him busy." He said, standing up.

"I can't lose this fight…" He muttered.

 _You_ _will_

Katsuki watched him jump as he heard his gauntlet make it's signalling noise.

 _Good, it's full_.

"Deku."

Izuku backed up a bit. "Kacchan…"

Katsuki grinned as he held up his arm with the full gauntlet. "Why don't you use your Quirk already. You think you can really win without it? You really think underestimating me is the smart move here Deku?"

"I'm scared of you anymore!" Izuku cried, clutching the tape tightly with both hands.

Katsuki scowled, gritting his teeth before he changed it into a grin.

"Since you seem to know all about me by now, I'm sure you know how my Quirk works. I make nitroglycerin like sweat, and then I detonate it." He aimed the gauntlet at him. "These things aren't just for show, they've been storing up my sweat for one mega blast." He grinned.

He saw a flash of horror on Izuku face.

 _That's right, be scared._

He put one finger in the pin, before he suddenly heard All Might's voice.

"Bakugo Katsuki, don't you dare use that blast! It'll kill him!"

"Oh don't worry!" He said. "It'll be fine as long as he dodges!" He yelled, pulling the pin. He was glad be braced himself earlier. He heard the explosion ring out, before tearing through the walls of the building. Concrete and plaster being burned and destroyed in the process. He heard a loud yell some feet ahead of him.

The entire building trembled as black smoke filled the air. Rubble and various debris lying everywhere in the hall. The outside was now exposed, hardly anything ahead of him left.

"Aw man…" He chuckled, walking forward to where he was sure the nerd was lying. "These things really pack a punch!" He almost felt giddy. He hadn't been expecting them to have so much power.

He heard something in his ear crackling, but he paid it no mind.

"There you are." He smiled, seeing Deku sitting up. His sleeve was torn, and there were a few scratches and mild burns on him. Good, so he _did_ dodge.

He heard more crackling in his ear, but this time there was actually a voice. "Bakugo! You use that weapon again and I will stop this fight! And your team will lose!"

"Whatever." He huffed, watching Deku stand up again. He was ready, good.

Katsuki wordlessly rushed forward, explosions propelling him forward. He saw Deku had planned to dodge, but some of the rubble gave under him.

He saw him make a fist, and start to swing forward, he had been expecting a hit of that strength.

 _Shit!_

He threw a hand forward, letting off a blast as he used another one to stop heading in that direction. He let off another loud explosion at Izuku's back, the blast making him scream in pain. One arm went to reach for his back, feeling for damage.

"Here's your favorite right swing!" He yelled, causing another scream of pain as he swung his gauntlet _hard_ into him. He didn't get the chance to recover, as Katsuki grabbed his right arm and swung him like he had been before.

"You're nothing!" he yelled, slamming him into the ground. "Don't like how that feels, now do you?"

He watched as Izuku took a moment to get up, only able to get to his knees. He could see him panicking, trying to get a way out of this.

 _Just give up, and I'll finish it Deku…_

"Why don't you use your Quirk already?" He asked, watching Izuku scramble away to the other side of the room. "Why don't you show that power that you were so fond of flashing off as a kid, Sis's power?" He stomped after him slowly. "You really think you can beat me without using anything? Now that's just idiotic."

Izuku stopped, reaching a window. It was as far as he could go.

"Deku! Are you alright!"

He couldn't answer, not at the moment.

"Kacchan." He said, making the blond stop in his tracks for a moment.

Katsuki narrowed his eyes as he watched Izuku hold his arm, sparks dancing around it until they suddenly faded. What was he doing?

"Do you remember what Aqua said, all those years ago?" He asked, tightening his grip. "You know...we were supposed to take care of each other."

 _Where are you going with this?_

"After all these years...for some reason I still put up with it." He grit his teeth. "I always got mad at you, again, and again, and again." He hissed. "Because all you did was hurt me. I was always your punching bag...and always the one you put down every single time." He looked down, shaking.

"But you know what?" He looked up, his shaking ceased. "I don't need you to take care of me anymore!" He gave Katsuki a hard stare, he held up his fist. "Because you never did."

 _You idiot!_

Katsuki felt himself bristle with anger. "You really think you're so much better than me-"

"You've always been stronger Kacchan. I _know_ that you're better than me." He planted his feet. "And that's why I want to surpass you, with my own power! But now...now you can go all out." His voice cracked.

Katsuki couldn't help but feel like there was an unspoken word towards him.

 _Coward._

Katsuki yelled as he raced forward, much to his surprise seeing Izuku race towards him as well. He didn't look scared, all his fear gone.

Katsuki didn't let himself flinch as he saw Izuku draw his fist back, the veins in his arm glowing red as power coursed through them.

Katsuki let off a few sparks, before building up heat.

 _You want me to go all out?_

He felt himself scowl.

 _Fine!_

They screaming as their fists flew towards each other, a surefire winner between one of them.

They ignored All Might's yells at them to stop.

"Uraraka! Now!" Izuku yelled, catching All Might and Katsuki off guard.

Katsuki wasn't ready for the rushing window to slap him in the face as he felt himself hit something hard, the harsh heat burning _something_.

He could only stand there and listen to the building be torn apart as hurricane winds tore through everything. He heard some faint yelling from above, something too distant to make out.

He looked down at the shorter boy, seeing the damage he had inflicted to his unbroken arm. It was burnt, and badly bruised. His glove was mostly gone. There was no way that he hadn't broken it.

"I'm...s-sorry Kacchan." He whispered, his voice sounding strangled. "But this...was the only way I thought...I could win. M-My body...can't handle the power of my Quirk yet. So this...was all I could think of…"

"The hero team…"

Katsuki watched his childhood friend fall to the ground in a broken heap. Both of his arms totaled in some way.

"Deku…"

"WINS!"

He ignored All Might's yell.

 _What do you mean sorry? What the hell do you mean?!_

"Hey...Deku!" He stepped forward, kneeling down to grab to boy by the collar. "What the hell do you mean!"

 _I don't need you to take care of me anymore!_

Had be been bluffing? Trying to rile him up?

"Answer me dammit!" He yelled, shaking the unconscious body a bit.

"Bakugo. Leave him be." He heard the firm words of All Might as a large hand placed itself on his shoulder. "He'll be taken to the nurse's office, but you need to set him down. The battle is over."

He grit his teeth as he placed Izuku down, glaring down at him.

"You damn nerd…"

 **-LotF-**

When Izuku woke up, he couldn't feel much else but a dull pain at first. His mind felt hazy at first, trying to focus on to many things that felt too distant.

It took him a moment to figure out what had happened, and where he was.

 _Hero training...fighting...Kacchan…_

He gasped and sit up, wincing a bit as a headache raced through his head, and he realized his arm was in a cast.

"Oh. you're awake." Recovery Girl looked over to him, putting down a chart. "How are you feeling dear?" She asked.

"A bit tired…" He admitted, rubbing his eyes.

"Well that is expected. You took quite the beating. I did what I could for today, I recommend either coming in early in the morning or after school so I can finish fixing you up." She sighed.

"Oh, thank you." He mumbled. "Is there anything else I need to…"

"No no, you're fine. Just don't hurt yourself anymore than you already are. Understand?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am." He nodded, standing up. He wobbled for a bit before steadying himself. "What time is it?" He asked.

"After school. You should grab your things and head straight home, get some rest." She looked over another chart, raising an eyebrow.

Izuku wordlessly nodded and headed out, hurrying over to his class. If he was lucky he'd catch Katsuki.

He peeked into the open door of the room, seeing everyone back in their uniforms. They were chatting about their results, paying no attention to him at the moment.

Izuku looked around before stepping inside.

"Oh, hey Midoriya!" One of the others, Ashido if he remembered correctly, looked at him.

"O-Oh! Hi!" Izuku greeted them.

"Dude, that was cool. The way you dodged around Bakugo!"

"That was an intense battle man!" A blond with a black lightning streak through his hair.

"Yeah, we saw that you guys gave it your all, so we wanted to do our best too!" A redhead that actually looked familiar for some reason. He couldn't quite place it.

"Oh...I..t-thanks?"

"Deku!"

"Izuku!" He looked up and saw Ochako and Tenya heading over to him. He smiled at the two, and felt grateful as Tenya handed him his bag.

"How are you feeling?" Ochako asked.

"I'm fine." He smiled. "Recovery Girl fixed me up. I'm going to have to come back tomorrow to finish healing. Sorry I worried you." He looked to the side.

"Well, at least you're okay." Tenya sighed. "I feel that Katsuki had gone too far. There was no need to be the brutal."

"Y-Yeah...speaking of Kacchan. Do you know where he is?" He asked.

The two looked shocked for a moment, unsure why he would want to talk to the person that gave him such a beat down.

"He just left…" Tenya answered.

Izuku gasped, slinging his bag over his shoulder and running out of the classroom.

"Thanks guys!" He called over his shoulder, running down the hall. He raced through the empty halls, going down stairs two at a time. He just hoped he would catch Katsuki before he left.

He grunted as he threw the door of the school entrance open, running forward. He saw a familiar silhouette just up ahead.

"Kacchan! Wait up!" He yelled, stopping a few feet away from him.

Katsuki stopped in his tracks, slowly turning to look at him. If looks could kill, Izuku would be dead on the spot. "What?" He growled.

Izuku bit his lip, looking at him for a moment. His heart hammered in his chest as he stared at Bakugo.

"I...I have to tell you something…" He muttered. "MAybe then you'll understand what's been going on." He looked down.

Katsuki stood there, silently.

"I haven't been hiding my Quirk from you...that's true. And you already know about...that other stuff." Izuku said, seeing Katsuki tense up a bit at that. Yeah, he knew what he meant.

"My Quirk, this strength; it was given to me by someone else. Recently."

Katsuki grunted, looking more irritated.

"But I can't tell you who it is! So don't ask! It sounds crazy, I know. It's like something out of a comic book; only it's real."

"Where are you going with this Deku?" Katsuki growled.

"The thing is, I don't have any control over it. Not yet, I'm still working towards that. To make it my own, truly. That's why I didn't want to use it against you in the exercise. I didn't want to hurt you…" He glanced up to see a mildly shocked expression on Katsuki, before he scowled.

"You already had something Deku, don't fucking lie to me. That magic stuff, the thing that Sis uses. Is that what you mean?" He asked, half turning around to him.

"N-No...well…"

"Answer the question Deku."

"I do but…" He grimaced, trying to keep a cowl off his face as he felt a cold sensation reach his palms. He grit his teeth as he once again turned that power away. "...I rejected it."

There was silence for a moment.

"What?" He sounded angry.

"Kacchan, that path wasn't for me. It never was...it never will be. This power, I had a choice, I earned this. This is the path that I chose...but I've still got a lot to learn. I know that. That's why I'm here. I promise...I'll work until I have full control with this borrowed Quirk, and I'll beat you with my own true power."

The two stared at each other for a moment before Izuku suddenly looked down.

 _Hold what am I saying?! I only meant to tell him I wasn't tricking him!_

Katsuki only stared at him, having a hard time processing what was just said to him. After a moment his eye twitched and he turned to face Izuku.

"How dumb do you think I am? Borrowing a Quirk is impossible...and rejecting that power...what the hell does that mean!"

Izuku was taken aback, he had been hoping he'd gloss over that detail.

"I lost to you. To a loser who can't even control his own damn powers!" He positioned his hand so it looked like he was trying to make an explosion. "Damn it. Damn it. Damn it! I fucking failed!" He looked at Izuku straight in the eye, unshed tears in his eyes.

"You better enjoy that win Deku! Because you're not going to get another! You don't want me to take care of you anymore? Fine! Then you're on your own from now on you got that!" He yelled, turning around, wiping his eyes. His other hand gripped something tightly in his pocket.

Izuku felt stunned when he heard that.

"Take care of me?" He mumbled.

Part of him was torn between calling Katsuki out on his actions. About his definition of,'taking care' of someone. Another part of him wanted to tell Katsuki he hadn't meant it. He had been trying to rile him up, to get him to attack.

But surely, those words had to have come from somewhere. Right?

"K-Kacchan...I...I didn't-"

"There you are! Young Bakugo!" All Might suddenly raced past Izuku, and put his hands on the blond's shoulders. "I found you!"

All Might panted as he started to spew off a few words of encouragement.

"Just so you know, pride is an important attribute to have. While you certainly have the abilities to become a pro hero, you certainly have a lot to learn."

"All Might. Let go of me. Right now." Katsuki demanded. He looked over his shoulder at the hero, still wiping away a few of his tears. "Save your stupid speeches. I don't need them, I'll be more famous than you and I'll do it without your help."

All Might was taken aback, taking his hands off the young man. "Uh...right…"

Katsuki said nothing as he walked away.

"All Might…" Izuku looked at him, a bit troubled.

 **-SotP-**

Izuku wanted nothing more than to just collapse in his bed. He yawned as he approached his house. He was hungry, and dirty. He hadn't even changed out of his hero costume yet. He hadn't had the energy to, not to mention it would have been a bit hard with his arms still in the state they are.

Still, exhaustion seemed to win out. He couldn't even begin to really care about the painful ache of hunger. Heck, he'd just fall asleep on the porch of he could.

Izuku mumbled to himself as he turned the knob, half expecting it to be unlocked. Sadly, it was locked.

He groaned to himself as he started to rummage through his bag for his keys, growing increasingly frustrated when he couldn't find them.

"I didn't leave them here did I?" He asked, still looking when he heard a click from the door.

"Hey! There you are, I was wondering when you'd get home."

Izuku froze at the sound of that voice, a voce he hadn't heard in a while.

He looked up to see who had greeted him at the door.

It was none other than his sister.

 **-LotF-**

 **Wow, okay I actually thought I wasn't going to get this story out until later. I guess I got a bit excited with writing. And this actually ended up a lot longer than I thought it was going to be. I seriously thought it was going to be like 20 or so pages on Google Docs.**

 **So, before anyone asks. No I didn't forget the conversation between All Might and Izuku, I was planning on going over that in the next chapter, which will also be the USJ chapter.**

 **I don't have much else to say other than testing days are good days for writing. Because you're stuck in one spot for a majority of the day and don't have have much else to do.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all have a great day/night!**


	11. USJ

**USJ**

"Hey! There you are, I was wondering when you'd get home."

Izuku tensed up, his blood going cold for a minute before he slowly looked up at the familiar voice.

"Aqua." He said, forcing a smile onto his face. "Y-You're home."

She smiled as he stood up, grabbing his bag with his good arm. "Izuku what on earth happened to you?" She asked, her smile leaving as soon as she looked over him, realizing the state he was in.

One arm in a sling, the other was heavily bandaged. He was covered in scratches and burns galore. She sighed and gently pulled him inside.

"Come on, mom is almost done with dinner. I can heal you after, and maybe you can tell us what happened."

"Oh...uh. Yeah…" Izuku mumbled, his was still reeling from seeing his sister so suddenly. He hadn't been expecting to see her so soon, he thought she'd at least give a call saying she was coming home. Or something like that.

He wordlessly followed her down the hall towards the kitchen. Pretending to listen to her talk as he walked a few feet behind her. He wasn't sure how he felt.

Yeah, he was mad at her. He would admit that, but with her bring so close. That truth, that feeling, that felt so petty. His anger seemed to quell a bit, but also raged somewhere deep within him. Another feeling took hold.

Fear.

What would Aqua do if she found out about his new Quirk? What would she do if she found out he gave up on that path? Her path. Crap if she's here, she probably knows about him getting into UA. She probably thinks he got in with magic.

 _Let her find out…_ A bitter thought.

"You know?"

He was snapped out of his thoughts, and looked up to see her turn around to look at him, a smile on her face.

"Huh?" He looked at her, confused. "Uh, sorry. I kinda spaced out for a minute." He tapped a finger against his cast. "It's been a long day." He muttered.

"Izuku!" He looked up at the sound of his distressed mother. He saw her set something down before running over to him, and looking him over. "Izuku what happened?" She asked.

"Hero Training was today…" He answered softy. "Kacchan and I kinda went all out…" He gave a small laugh in an attempt to ease her worry. It hardly did anything as he let out a long sigh.

"Recovery Girl said I could stop by before or after school to finish healing up...yeah." He muttered, casting his eyes downward.

"It's only your second day, and you're already coming home hurt like this." Inko sighed, she went over to the stove to turn off the stove.

"At least he's not frozen over." Aqua chuckled.

Inko gave her a look. "Or paralyzed. I still remember when I got that call, that scared me half to death!"

"Heh heh…" Aqua gave a light laugh, suddenly looking sheepish.

Inko shook her head and rubbed her temples. "Help me serve dinner, we can talk more then." She smiled. "Izuku, how about you wash up?"

Izuku nodded quietly and exited the room, hearing to two women talk as he walked down the hall. He quickly shut the door behind him and leaned against the door. It took all his willpower to stay on his feet and not sink to the floor in exhaustion.

He suddenly felt _suffocated_ , hard to breathe. He had begun to panic internally. It was bad enough that he was barely able to convince All Might the fire from the robot had just been from the explosions. Now he had to keep up this new facade with his sister?

If he was lucky he could dodge her until she left.

Part of him was glad she was here, so maybe he could finally tell her how he felt. Maybe put those feelings to rest.

No, then he'd have to deal with the aftermath. And of course, it'd probably be all his fault anyway. Why should his sister have to worry about training someone on something so simple?

He ran a hand through his hair and bit his lip. She might just stay for a week or two, then leave. So it'd be okay, and he'd be spending most of his days at school. So he could avoid her. When at home he could always just lock himself in his room and say he's working on homework.

Yeah, how long would that work?

He was startled from his thoughts with a loud knock.

"Izuku?" It was his mother. "Are you alright?"

It took him a moment to find his voice. "Y-Yeah! Yeah, just...I'll be right out." He heard her walk away, and he went to splash a little bit of water on his face.

"Just deal with it." He told himself, shaking his head before stepping out. He slowly walked to the dining room where Aqua was settling the table and his mother was pouring drinks. He swallowed hard before stepping into the room.

"Hey…" Izuku mumbled. "So uh, what's for dinner?"

"Food." Aqua laughed, getting a tired look from Izuku.

"Tasty." He said, grabbing a glass from the counter and setting it down. He sat down, the other two following soon after.

The table was quiet for a bit before conversation slowly started up.

"How's UA treating you?" Aqua asked, breaking up the silence.

"It's good, keeps me pretty busy." Izuku answered simply, shoving a forkful of food into his mouth. He kept his gaze either on his food or the wall.

"Yeah, school does that. Who do you have for homeroom? Is Mr. Tui still there, or did he retire?"

"I think homeroom teachers differ for each class year Aqua." Izuku sighed. "And, I actually have Shouchan for homeroom."

Aqua nearly choked on her drink at that, startling the two. It took her a moment for her to regain her composure, coughing as she looked at Izuku.

"Shouta is teaching?" She asked.

"Yeah."

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I thought he was kidding when he said he was going to start teaching!"

"...Nemuri and Yamada are teaching too." He added after a bit.

"Kayama and Hizashi, I can see that a bit more easily than Shouta. Wow, a lot has changed since I've been gone huh?" She smiled to herself.

"Yeah, seems that way when you're gone for so long. Nothing ever really stays the same." Izuku said, a bit too quickly.

Aqua had changed quite a bit too, appearance wise. It had been forever since he's seen her. When _was_ the last time he saw her, in person? It couldn't have been years could it? Maybe it was, certainly felt like it.

Over the course of 10 years, Aqua had aged well. She had grown out her hair, which was down to her mid back by this point, she usually kept it in a messy bun. She hadn't grown that much taller, about an inch maybe. She was still taller than Inko, and Izuku. She had a few bags under her eyes that never seemed to leave, of course from lack of sleep and stress. She had a few scars collected over the years of being a hero. Whether it be from the dark creatures or villains.

One of her more noticeable ones were on the left side of her face and on her arms, they looked like spiderwebbed cracks that had somewhat faded over time. That had been from one her her first fights while she was in America. She had come home wrapped up in bandages galore, having pushed herself beyond her limits against a villain with a disintegration Quirk, allowing him to destabilize molecular compositions in any organic or inorganic material. After she told them what happened Inko nearly had a heart attack. That was one of her fights before what was considered her big debut.

Aqua looked at Izuku for a moment before sighing. "Yeah, I guess so. How's Katsuki? And Tenya? They made it into the hero course too yeah?"

Izuku nodded, halfway done with his meal by then. "Yeah, they did. And they're good, Tenya hasn't really changed that much. Kacchan is...well he's as fiery as ever." He gave a small laugh, seeing her smile.

"That's good to know. Actually speaking of Katsuki, earlier you said that you and him went all out?"

Izuku took a long swig of his water, trying to decide which details to omit and which ones to keep. After a moment he started to speak.

"Yeah, we had Hero Training today. And well, Kacchan and Tenya were on the villains team, while a girl named Uraraka and I were the heroes in that scenario. We had to secure a weapon the other two were protecting." There, hopefully she wouldn't ask too much more of that.

"A girl?" Aqua smiled at him, a light tease.

Izuku nodded, feeling a light blush dust his cheeks. "Yeah, she was the one who had secured the weapon. I had been keeping Kacchan busy. She was the one that won the exercise for us..." He looked to the side.

"Is that how you got so beat up?" Inko asked.

"Yeah…" He looked down. "We didn't hold anything back."

 _I don't need you to take care of me anymore!_

But had he really meant it?

He felt himself cringe whenever he thought about it. Pushing it down before it could really go too far.

"I see." Aqua murmured.

Once again they settled into a silence, it was almost strained. Izuku kept looking away from the other two, Aqua's leg was bouncing up and down. Like she wanted to talk about something as well.

"How was your last mission?" Inko asked after a while. "You've been gone for a while."

"It was just back to back. I finished dealing with a horde in the states, and then Tensei and I are getting called over to Europe for another horde of those things. It's been chaotic lately." She explained, rubbing her eyes. "We usually only got a few hours of sleep and we ended up getting most sleep while travelling. I'm glad we were able to find a sitter for Bubbles and Hund."

"Who?" Izuku asked, confused. Even Inko looked startled at that.

"Bubbles and Hund, our dog and cat." Aqua explained, pulling out her phone and showing it to the two. There on the screen was a picture of a small, roundish dog with big eyes. White with brown patches all over. He didn't look like the most friendliest dog. While the cat was a bit bigger than the dog, looked a bit older too. She was a dark gray, sleek cat. It seemed that she had constant narrowed eyes of sternness.

"Bubbles is the cat and Hund is the dog?" Inko asked.

"Other way around." Aqua said, swiping to a video. As soon as it appeared on the screen a big grin reached her face.

"What's that?" Inko asked, Izuku got her bowl and stacked it on his. He couldn't help but look at the screen as the video started playing.

Tensei was on the floor, talking to Bubbles. He was scratching the dog behind the ears and making noises. "I think he loves me." He cooed, holding back a laugh as the dog started to make groaning and growling noises.

"Yeah, you love me?" Tensei asked, chuckling as the dog made more noises. He had even rolled over as Tensei started to give him some belly rubs. Bubbles had suddenly stopped when he saw Aqua, rolling over and staring at her.

"Yeah, I got this whole thing." She laughed as the dog made a noise that seemed to be a cross between a growl and a snarl.

Aqua was holding her head in one hand as the video played, shoulders shaking. Inko was laughing, even Izuku couldn't help but laugh.

"And then there was this one...oh god this one is my favorite. So, I like cats. A little more than I like dogs, but still. Tensei likes dogs more than cats." She smiled, shaking her head.

"But Bubbles prefers to hang around me, and Hund likes to be around Tensei. And when I first brought him back to the apartment, Bubbles wasn't very fond of Tensei. So I was able to get this."

She turned the phone to them again, and Izuku was listening from the kitchen, putting the dishes in the sink. He was going to start washing them, making himself flinch in pain as he tried to move his broken arm. Having forgotten it was broken for a minute.

"Hi there Bubbles." Tensei's voice. There was a low groan from the dog.

"Can I please sit on the couch with you and Aqua?" He asked.

The dog was sitting, facing the small TV and suddenly looked at Tensei and started to growl at him. "Please Bubs?"

The dog started to bark at him loudly, Aqua was laughing in the background.

"Okay, bye Bubby."

Tensei started to go down the hall, and screamed as he looked over his shoulder to see Bubbles jumping off the couch to race after him. There was a loud hiss and the cat suddenly darted from some corner and went racing after the two.

"Hm, and how is Tensei doing nowadays?" Inko smiled, which grew into a grin as Aqua turned a bright red.

She just looked down and coughed. "H-He's great. Doing just fine!" She gave a thumbs up.

"Sure sounds like it." Izuku mumbled as he walked back in.

"S-Shut up!" She covered her face.

"Did something happen?" Inko asked.

Aqua groaned and hid her face in her arms. "That is something I am not getting into today." She said, her voice slightly muffled.

"Oh dear." Inko sighed.

Aqua shook her head before sitting up, her blush mostly gone. "So, Izuku. How about I heal you up, and maybe we can talk a bit." She looked at him.

He froze for a moment.

"Er...what exactly do you want to talk about?" He asked, sitting down in his previous seat.

"Well, it's been a while. Maybe we should catch up, seeing as you've been too busy to call me. And I've been too busy to call you." She smiled.

"Ah...well. I-I'm actually really tired. Recovery Girl's healing really took a lot out of me. S-So yeah…" He mumbled, looking down. "I just wanna head to bed…"

"Oh, yeah. Don't worry, I get it. Believe me, I probably know better than most how tired Recovery Girl's healing can make you. Still though, I think you'd be a bit more comfortable with both arms working." She lifted a hand.

"You don't-" Izuku closed his eyes as he saw a green light surround him, and flower petals made of soft light fell around him. A moment later he opened his eyes, and looked down at himself.

He lifted one of his hand to see it, the scratches and small burns that were left behind were gone. The minor pains that had been plaguing him had disappeared. He hesitantly moved his arm in the sling, not feeling any pain.

"Huh." He took it off and flexed his arm, looking over it.

"A bit better?" Aqua asked, watching her brother unwrap the bandages on his arms.

"Yeah." He muttered, feeling his back lightly for any more of the residual burns. This made Aqua raise her eyebrow, just wondering how bad the fight really was.

"Thanks." He said, slowly backing up. "I'm gonna head to bed, maybe we can talk later?" Izuku asked.

"Yeah sure." She nodded, watching him disappear. She waited until she heard the sound of a door shutting before turning to Inko. She still waited for a minute, seeing if she could hear something else.

"Is Izuku okay?" She asked, her voice low. "He seemed a bit off."

Inko sighed and looked down the hall. "I'm sure he is. He was fine yesterday, just a bit tired. He seemed happy. Remember Aqua he _did_ just have a rough fight, he and Katsuki might have gotten a bit out of hand. You know how you would get with an intense fight."

Aqua hummed and tapped her finger on the table. "Yeah, we used to say things we regretted a minute later. But I mean, he didn't seem as... _happy_ to see me as he usually is." She frowned.

Inko looked down, she didn't really have any answer for that. Izuku would usually be thrilled to see her. Even when she dropped in out of the blue. His reactions weren't as ecstatic as he got older, but he had never been this quiet.

"Again Aqua, maybe things went a bit too far. We didn't really hear much about his day, so give him a minute. Maybe he'll feel better tomorrow."

Aqua nodded to herself with a sigh.

"Is everything okay with you?" Inko asked.

Aqua groaned and turned red, burying her face in her arms again. "I messed up." She muttered, looking to the side. "I...might have upset Tensei. I was a bit...hostile." She admitted.

Inko frowned at her, leaning forward. "Are you alright? Did something happen to…"

Aqua looked away. "I'd rather not talk about it right now. I'm still thinking over it."

Inko sighed to herself, and looked at her daughter. "Well, I'll be here if you want to talk. And you have friends here Aqua, don't push them away when you feel like this."

Aqua nodded to herself. "I know...I know."

 **-SotP-**

To say that all was peaceful in the Midoriya household would be a lie. There wasn't anything akin to yelling, far from it. If anything it was just strained silence.

Aqua would often try to reach out a hand for a conversation, only to be shot down with a simple answer or some kind of excuse.

"I've got homework." He'd dash to his room.

"It's been a long day." He'd avoid her gaze.

"Just kind of tired." A fake smile.

It hurt her to say the least, that he was avoiding her. But it also made her suspicious.

She hadn't seen Izuku in a long time, and yeah maybe things might have changed. But she was still his sister, he couldn't exactly avoid her forever. Even if he tried she'd find a way to corner him and confront him about it. Not that she'd want to _have_ to.

The weekend seemed like a good time to try and talk to him. He may not be too busy, although she couldn't be too sure. Having Shouta as a homeroom teacher probably wasn't easy. Especially with him coming off as a bit hostile or apathetic at times.

While he was at school she would spend a lot of time at home, sorting through the paperwork that had been piling for a while despite her efforts to get it done efficiently. If she wasn't doing that, she was spending a lot of time walking around the city.

She'd look through new shops that popped up, seeing hero merch, small trinkets, even a few bakeries.

She'd take a glance through the hero shops, seeing a few magazines and of course figurines. She always hated most of the magazines, they were nothing but gossip that reporters had made up in order to get something out.

She ended up taking a more down to earth magazine to browse through as she stood off to the side of the shop, nearby a few new figurines of heroes called Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady. She had a small hood on, preferring to keep her face hidden as she could.

That was one of the reasons she liked to wear a helmet with her costume, she liked to keep her face hidden. She was glad to help everyone, slaying the dark creatures that she had taken to calling them Dwellers of Darkness. Even though she helped, she wasn't a big fan of being swarmed in public if her face was recognized. She was there to help, not to be a celebrity.

Though it couldn't be helped. How many times had she taken a beating from a villain or a monster and her helmet broke off? A lot. Same could be said for Tensei.

It was one of the things she and Shouta would usually agree on. Granted she'd be kinder to the fans that approached her if somehow recognized in comparison to him.

"Interested in buying that?" The shopkeeper asked, a middle aged man.

"Just browsing." She hummed, giving a small smile. She looked back down to the magazine. Some of it were a few actual news articles, talking about a few heroes and their triumphs. More recently a villain whose body was like slime was found missing from his cell. It called for a wide search across the city.

Below the article was a recapped story of when the villain had captured a teenager and was subdued by All Might.

She frowned to herself, and made a mental note to keep an eye out for any trails of slime. She might actually have work to do in the city. Speaking of All Might, there was an article of him starting a job at UA as a teacher.

 _I bet Izuku was a big fan of that. I wonder if he has him as a teacher._

She was amused at the thought of her brother fanboying every time the hero walked into the room.

She flipped through the magazine a bit, not finding much else of interest. There was a list of top heroes. Much to her surprise there was a picture of her in her hero costume on her page. 'Upcoming, soon to be in Top 10!' In bold letters.

Was she really that popular? How?

It stunned her for a moment before she shook her head and put the magazine back, still surprised. She stepped out and started to walk again, glancing over everything she saw. The old movie theater was still running, it actually looked a lot bigger than the last time she had seen it.

She stopped at a corner, looking over the familiar street after walking for a bit longer. She sighed and scanned over everything, It was the same street where she fought those villains, that horrid monster. The same street she met Tensei the very first time.

She smiled at the thought of him.

" _What do you think about marriage?"_

" _H-Huh?"_

She blushed lightly and went walking down the street. The thoughts of him keeping away the darker thoughts of her nightmares that toed at the line of her thoughts. How many times had she woken up in a cold sweat, or leaping out of bed? Thinking that monster had gotten to Izuku, that All Might hadn't made it in time.

That darkness had claimed her brother? Taking away yet another precious thing from her. A constant fear in the back of her mind. The possibility of it there.

But he was strong, she knew that, had absolutely no doubt about it. She had seen it in him the moment he conjured that small flame in his hands, joyous to be just like his sister. He had a bright light in him.

Then the flame he had grown so proud of had burned him, betraying him. She thought she saw a bit of that light go out. It had been some time after she had gotten hurt with her own magic. She burned herself, and honestly thought it was her own fault him growing afraid of his own power.

Through the years it continued to hurt him, and bit by bit she thought she saw that light dim just a bit more. She tried, but as time went on she couldn't stay by his side. She was a hero, and she was needed to cast light on the shadows and drive them away.

But now, she saw that light was there, with renewed vigor. But there was something new to it. Something she couldn't quite place. It wasn't inherently bad, she knew that, but there just a strange presence it. Almost like it wasn't just his own, like he shared it with someone.

She bit her lip as she turned a corner, a familiar route. Subconsciously she knew where she was going.

She saw that light in Izuku, and despite her not being there she was so happy he had finally conquered his own power. And even gone as far as to get into the hero course with it!

She knew what was next, what was sure to come. She could sense it in him, that presence. She just wasn't sure or when it would manifest, hopefully soon.

" _You don't have to do everything on your own, you can ask for help! I know you get scared but-"_

" _Scared? I am beyond scared, Tensei I'm terrified!" She whirled around on him, the strange, new creature fading away. An unrecognizable symbol branded onto its white head._

" _Aqua, it's not like the world is going to end." He tried to offer a smile._

" _It feels like it just might." She snapped._

A new kind of monster had arrived, different from the Dwellers of Darkness. The ones she had faced so far moved fluidly and never seemed to sit still. They weren't very strong, but caused a lot of trouble in large groups. There also seemed to be strange variants of them.

It made her anxious to say the least, there was a new threat coming. Or maybe it had been there and just now it decided to strike. But why now? What was it after?

She couldn't help but think of Terra and Ventus as of recent, the memories of them still haunted her, and still caused her guilt to this day. No matter how many times she assured the voice in her head that she was going to find them one day, it always bit back with a jeering voice that claimed that she never planned to return to their sides. That 10 years had passed and she accepted her fate.

She unconsciously rubbed at her charm that sat securely in her pocket. With Terra and Ven in her thoughts she couldn't help but _feel_ something. Like a tether that she had thought snapped long ago. She could feel one of them out there, closer than ever; but it was too faint for her to tell who it was for certain.

Her mind ran wild with assumptions and possibilities. Had Terra finally found out where she was, and was coming to bring her back?

Did Ven wake up on his own, and leave the safe haven? Was he out there, searching desperately for her?

Even the possibility of it being Master Yen Sid crossed her mind. Perhaps he had been able to track her down and sent someone, maybe Mickey, to come after her.

The thought of it excited her, being able to see one of her friends again after so long! But it still brought feelings of worry. Would they resent her for being gone so long? Would she have to leave so suddenly? What would happen to Izuku, and Katsuki? What about Tensei and the others?

She suddenly slowed her brisk pace, and let out a long sigh.

She was doing it again, letting herself slip into a fit of worry and anxiety. Questions that didn't have answers yet, and might never have answers.

She clutched the charm tightly and looked ahead, at where her destination was. Instead of the calmness outside the gates she was used to, there was instead; a large crowd of rowdy people with cameras, microphones, and notepads.

 _What in the world…_

She started walking towards them, watching the crowd try to inch closer and closer past the school gates. They were only stopped by two familiar faces. The sight of them made her beam to herself.

"We just want a statement from All Might!" One particularly pushy lady huffed, a microphone in her hand.

"I know how you people work, give you an inch and you'll take a mile." Shouta put his hands up, looking over the crowd.

"Wow." She muttered to herself as she slightly slowed her pace and walked between the crowd and two teachers. "Ain't this a mess?" She shook her head a bit. It took a moment for the two to register her.

"Hey!" Mic greeted her with enthusiasm. "Blue! You're back!"

"I am, nice to see you too." She smiled.

The lady had stopped pushing out of confusion and looked between the stranger and the two heroes. "Who are…" She trailed off.

"Got a bit of trouble on your hands I see." Aqua chuckled.

"Shut up." Shouta glared at her.

Aqua grinned. "Good to see you too."

After a moment the stunned woman huffed. "This is ridiculous! If you're not going to let us in, then I'll-" She stepped forward, past a sensor that loud a loud buzz that startled everyone.

Aqua had nearly gotten caught in the middle of large iron doors slamming down to prevent intruders. She ended up jumping back, instinctively towards her friends.

"Cutting it a bit close there dontcha think?" Hizashi asked as they backed away from the door a bit and started to walk towards the school.

"Do you even have clearance?" Shouta asked.

"Probably not…" She rubbed the back of her head as he rolled his eyes.

"Either climb over that wall or-"

"Aw come on, we haven't seen her in a while! We're-"

"It is the middle of the school day." Shouta glared at him. "And I still have to deal with my students and do the whole student officers thing."

"I see you haven't changed much." She hummed as she started walking with them. Shouta grunted as he typed away at his phone, texting someone they all knew.

"Oh yeah, Izuku told me you're his homeroom teacher." She said. "How is he doing? He's been a bit...distant lately."

Yeah it was a low move but if she didn't have to force a confrontation she didn't want to. Especially when it could mean their relationship could become more strained than it seemingly is.

"Problem child." He grumbled, getting a ring from his phone. She had clearance, not an ID, but clearance at the moment.

"You still call him that?" Aqua asked, walking towards the main building with the other two. "Is he really a problem?"

"Personally I think the little listener is just fine. Shouta just likes to be hard on his kids. Did you know he expelled an entire class one year?"

Aqua nearly stopped short, and looked at the hero. "How are you still a teacher?"

"Because I do my job, and I sort the students with potential, versus those with none." He shook his head and started to head towards one the teacher lounges. He gave her a look before he walked inside a room and went straight for the coffee. "And he has plenty of that."

"I'm sure he does." She smiled, taking off her hood. "So, it's been a while. Let's-"

"Aqua?"

She stopped mid-sentence and looked up at the one who entered the room. A big smile found her face as she walked towards them.

"Nemuri!"

They hugged each other and looked over one another.

"It's been a long time."

"I know."

"Where have you been?" Nemuri asked, walking over to a fridge and pulling out a box.

Aqua shrugged. "Overseas, around."

"Aw, give us more than that Blue. How have you and Tensei been? Have either of you popped the question yet?" She smirked.

Shouta looked up from his coffee cup with a bit of interest. Hizashi stopped mid-bite to look at her.

"We uh…" She looked to the side, letting out a small cough. "We've been good, pretty busy."

"And…" Nemuri leaned forward, her teasing smirk gone.

"And, uh...well we may or may not be in the midst of an argument at the moment…" She muttered, rubbing her arm.

"Wanna talk about it?" Nemuri looked at her.

"Not right now…"

There was a bit of silence in the room. Before either of the four could speak the door opened, and another teacher walked in. A withered looking man trudged in, coughing into a small handkerchief.

"Aizawa! I have a question about…" He trailed off, looking at the new stranger. He looked over her for a moment, she seemed familiar. He couldn't quite place it. "Oh, who is this?" He asked. "Are you a member of the staff?" He asked.

"Oh, no! Just visiting a few friends, happened to be at the right place and the right time." She answered.

"A friend?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, a friend." Shouta sighed, taking a long sip of his coffee. "What do you need?" He huffed.

The man gave him a sheepish smile. "You have any idea of what Recovery's Girl favorite treat is? I may or may not want to give her a peace offering."

Shouta looked like he suppressed a groan as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "What did you do this time?"

"She likes candy." Aqua answered, a smile on her face. "I would usually get her an assortment just to be safe. It's best to go to the shop downtown, the one near the market. Get at least three different assorted bags; better to have them on hand."

"Oh…" The man looked around and grabbed a small sticky note, writing that down. "Thank you." He nodded, pocketing the note. He held out a hand. "It's nice to meet you young lady, please call me Yagi."

"Nice to meet you." She greeted back, shaking his hand. "Aqua, Aqua Midoriya."

The man looked ready to hack up a lung.

"Of course you would know." Hizashi teased. "Ms. I'm sorry I broke my arm in two places the day after I nearly froze myself over."

"Shut up! I still won that fight!" She pointed at him, turning away from the man.

"Your brother is as reckless as you. I can only wonder where on earth he got it from." Shouta muttered, narrowing his eyes.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Aqua frowned.

"He broke his bones in the training exercise and the first Quirk tests. Not to mention he broke two fingers yesterday. Either stop being a bad influence or teach him to control his output." He snapped.

The withered man stopped for a moment and looked up, a bit shocked. For a moment he thought that was directed at him. He blanched at the thought of the secret somehow being out.

"What do you mean, breaks his bones?" Her head snapped towards him.

"Little listener creates a lot of wind force, usually has flames trailing after it too, those don't burn him as badly anymore. The recoil ends up breaking his bones. That ever happen to you Blue?" Hizashi looked at her, then paled. "You uh...didn't know did ya?"

"No! When I came home when he had a sling and all I thought that was because of Katsuki!"

"Some of it was." Shouta shot a glare at the withered man. He flinched at that gaze and turned away.

Aqua took in a deep breath. "Oh crap he never learned to control it…"

"Still manages to stay on his feet though, I'll give Green Bean that much." Nemuri hummed.

 _I_ _really_ _have to talk to Izuku now. If he keeps breaking himself using magic there's going to be nothing left._

The man in the baggy suit let out another involuntary cough and was about to walk out when a loud bell started to go off.

"Level 3 Security Breach. Repeat Level 3 Security Breach. Please evacuate calmly." A calm, prerecorded voice spoke over the intercom. Surely calm was the last thing that was going on in the school though.

All the heroes in the room looked up, three of them ran out. Leaving a coughing All Might and a concerned Nemuri.

"You okay there?" She asked, standing up.

"That's Young Midoriya's sister?" He asked.

"Yeah, didn't know he had one? Do you not notice how we are around the kid?"

"No no, I just didn't know that _she_ was his sister. How on earth did I forget?" He asked himself. She had introduced herself to him once, in that catastrophic event that nearly wiped out a city. A seemingly endless wave of those creatures. All swarming around one area, unbeknownst to the other heroes. That's where his main target was.

 _Because I was focusing on him, that's why I didn't remember her...man, you've got some big shoes to fill kid._ He stopped for a moment. _And you owe me an explanation..._

The three that rushed outside were met with the large crowd of reporters running towards the entrance.

"How did they get in!" Hizashi asked, looking at them as Aqua pulled the hood over her head.

"No idea, we just won't let them inside." Shouta huffed.

"You want me to make a barrier?" Aqua offered. "Just around the door."

"No, probably not the best idea. Just stand here, keep an eye for anyone that tries to sneak around." Shouta told her.

"Got it." she nodded, looking over the large crowd. The pushy woman from earlier stormed up to them, demanding to be let in.

She was joined with a few other people who were also making their own demands. Wanting to see All Might and get some kind of statement.

"They _are_ technically trespassing, which _technically_ makes them villains." Mic whispered to them.

Don't even think about it." Shouta glared at him. "Unless you want your name dragged through the mud. Just wait, Nedzu has probably called the police by now."

Aqua only grunted in response as she scanned over the crowd again and again. They were all trying to get inside, but still kept some kind of distance from the heroes.

Aqua half listened to Shouta and Mic refusing entry into the school again and again when she saw some movement that caught her eye. It was off to the side, moving away from the crowd, almost at a leisurely pace.

"You gotta be kidding me." She muttered before looking at the other two. "Hey, someone's trying to go around back. I'll be right back."

Before any of the others could say anything she took off, her friends easily losing sight of her in the trees and foliage.

She could see the figure moving just up ahead, weaving through the trees with ease and almost vanishing from sight more than once. It took a few tries until it had seemed the figure just up and disappeared.

Aqua stopped in her tracks, and looked around. The area up ahead was more open, and from where she stood she could see a window where the was a horde of students rushing to get through the hall.

The alarm had probably sent them all into a frenzy. She thought she saw a familiar head of green until she saw him get slammed into the window.

 _Yup, that's him._

He probably couldn't see her from where he was, and she was still in the trees. She smiled to herself, until she noticed that he recovered from his daze and looked down. She saw his expression change from one to confusion to one of alarm.

Her head snapped down as she saw what looked like a bullet heading towards her. She instinctively summoned her Keyblade and deflected it, sending it back to its sender. The bullet struck a tree, fading away upon impact.

She saw the culprit just up ahead, the new symbol on its shoulder. It seemed to float on the air, moving around constantly. It had what looked like some kind of crossbow in its hands, pointed downwards at the moment.

Before she had the chance to move forward and slay it, it suddenly disappeared in a wave of shadows. As if the thing had done its job, whatever it was. She scowled to herself, the creature reminded her of someone she would be more than happy to forget. But it looked like he was still around, still wanting to cause strife.

She looked up to see that the rush had calmed down, and her brother was no longer in sight. He had probably been moved ahead. She walked over to where the creature was a moment ago, and knelt down. There was hardly anything left behind, just a bit of black dust if anything. A dark stain on the grass, easily missed in a mere glance.

A moment later she heard the sound of whooping sirens, snapped from her thoughts.

"About time." She sighed, making her way back over to where the reporters were. She took her place over by her friends and watched the police begin to clear them out.

While Shouta talked to the officer Hizashi and Aqua talked amongst themselves.

"You good? You seem a bit shaken up. Or maybe irritated might be a better word." He handed her a bottle of water that began to freeze in her grasp.

"It was a good thing I came back to town." She said, taking a small sip.

"Why?"

She opened her mouth to answer when she saw Shouta was done speaking with the officer, watching him walk away. She moved towards him quickly.

"Where's Nedzu?"

 **-LotF-**

Five individuals stood at the gates of the school, at their feet were the decayed remains of the metal walls that had separated the school from the outside world.

"Who on earth could have breached our defenses?" He asked aloud, not necessarily looking for an answer. He walked forward to get a closer look at the rubble. "What could they possibly want?"

The three staff members and one visitor stayed silent as the creature before them looked out into the distance. "There is a new threat on the horizon." He looked over to them. "Whether this was a display of power, or a declaration of war I am unsure."

He shook his head and looked to Aqua. "With your report of these new creatures I am afraid that this much more serious than I initially thought."

They said nothing as the gears in their minds turned. A new danger, a bold enemy, and no idea what they could possibly want. One of these new dangers could only be effectively destroyed by one of them.

"Ms. Midoriya." Nedzu started, turning away to look at the setting sun.

"Yes?" She looked up.

"How long do you intend to be in town?" He asked.

"How long are you going to need me here?" She asked, already getting at what he was planning.

He smiled to himself. "I see…" He was silent for a moment. "Perhaps we should hire another teacher, adding to the Hero course. Wouldn't you all agree?" He asked the other three.

Midnight hummed to herself. "The Symbol of Peace and the Hero of Light. Pretty big beacons for our school...might make certain unwanted groups bolder than normal."

"I won't necessarily make a public announcement about it, nor should you Ms. Midoriya."

"I didn't plan on it." She shook her head. "But if you want me teaching here, I need some kind of license don't I?" She crossed her arms.

"I'm sure we can work around that." He was quiet, thinking. "Aizawa."

"Yes?"

"When are your students going to the training facility?"

"Friday." He answered.

"Can you start tomorrow?" His attention was back on Aqua. That gave her the rest of the day to get whatever she needed ready. Which in all honesty, she had no clue what was needed.

"Yes." She answered, she thought about it after a moment. "You want me to overlook Eraserhead's class?" She asked.

"Well, more specifically I may station you in the same course with All Might."

There was a snort. "Good, put someone reasonable in there."

"Shouta." Aqua scolded.

"Either way, there are quite a few things we should discuss. But that can be handled another day, perhaps you should head home. Start getting everything sorted out."

"Right." She hummed, looking around. "I'll see you later."

"Try to stop by early tomorrow, there are quite a few things to go over." Nedzu said as she started to make her way out the gates.

"I'll try my best." Aqua promised.

 **-SotP-**

"Just because you can stay up late, doesn't mean you should!" Tenya scolded Izuku, who had a small set of bags beneath his eyes.

"I know, I know. I just had a bad night last night, so I figured I may as well make it productive." Izuku laughed. It was true that he didn't have the best night, he had another weird dream that had left him exhausted and half of his room frozen over while lightning sparked around him.

He wasn't sure how to remedy it without hurting himself, so he had opted to cover the important things while the ice thawed. He had fallen asleep at his desk, pieces of trinkets scattered around. It took him a bit of time to gather what he needed.

"You haven't been sleeping well?" Tenya asked, concerned. "Is everything alright?"

Izuku yawned before shaking his head. "I'm fine, just a lot of weird dreams." He assured.

It didn't help his sister tried to corner him multiple times the day before after she came home, she had said something about them needing to talk about his magic. And something else they had to talk about.

It was harder than he thought, he ended up locking himself in the bathroom for a few minutes before dashing to the kitchen and slipping out the window. He had gone for a run before coming back.

The time away gave him time to think, time to stew in his own irritation for a bit.

Why would Aqua want to talk to him? Clearly she didn't know about his teachery, taking One For All. So she's still on the assumption he's using his magic. But why now? Was it because he finally 'supposedly' mastered his magic and had it under control?

So what? Just because he was no longer seen as a useless nuisance, she wanted to actually see him? To talk to him? Did she really think that after all these years that he'd want to discuss this?

But part of him did.

Part of him just wanted to confront her, and ask her why she gave up on him. To get mad at whatever excuse she may have. To tell her that he made his choice and he was going down the path he wanted.

Another part of him wanted to keep his secret close to him, to run away. Scared to see what she'd say, how'd she reacted. The inevitable hurt, anger, and disappointment.

But until he actually had to deal with it, he'd put it off. No point in making a fuss over it if it would get him nowhere.

"I am here, coming through the door!" All Might stepped inside, his voice booming and catching the attention of everyone, making them settle down.

"Today we're going to be going through some easy training, some light sparring and going over strengths and such." He explained. The students couldn't help but feel like that part was rehearsed.

Everyone nodded, waiting for the order to go get changed so they could get started on the exercise.

"But before we get started, I would like to introduce another teacher that is going to be here for the time being."

Everyone looked up at that, looking at each other and starting to murmur.

"Another hero?"

"Who do you think it might be?"

"Oh man, you think Mt. Lady would start teaching here?"

"In your dreams dude."

"You think it might be someone in the Top 10?"

"No way!"

"Ooh, an underground hero?"

All Might watched them speculate for a moment before clearing his throat to all of them. There a moment before they all settled down again.

"Well, perhaps we should let her introduce herself." All Might said, a bit taken aback by the suggestions. He looked over to the door and nodded.

Izuku, Katsuki, and Tenya's jaws dropped when they saw who walked in.

She was in her hero costume. Clad in reinforced blue armor that had been upgraded again and again, getting less bulky and a bit more simple; yet somehow kept it's glorious complications. Each time her armor changed, it was subtle, but still noticeable in a way. In her current version it had lines and plates of silver around the neck, wrists, abdomen, and ankles, as opposed to the silver lining she originally had. She was always keen on keeping the blues, soft purples, and grays. She had even left out the silver spikes around her ankles she used to have.

She still had a cape, like the the first version, made of a more sturdier, fireproof material. Something she could use to keep civilians safe, or as a distraction for an enemy. They were connected to the pauldrons that were still a bit bulky, they often kept her shoulder from popping out of place. The gauntlets around her wrists and forearm were a bit smaller, less bulky compared to her original costume. But they were still sturdy, and often saved her from a blow above or from the side when she didn't have time to form a barrier or block with her blade. In the middle of her chest there was her signature silver symbol was, mirrored on her back as well.

The heart on top of the cross.

At least that's how people described it. But as time went on they had dubbed it the Guardian's Sigil. People called this version of her costume the 'Awakened Era', the previous one was called the 'Sleeping Era'.

Everyone watched the hero walk to the center of the room, looking over them. It wasn't long before everyone started muttering to themselves.

"No way…"

"Wasn't she overseas recently?"

"Oh my god it's her!"

"Who is she?"

"Dude, seriously?"

Ochako looked over to Izuku and Tenya who were still slack-jawed at the sight. She knew, they had been talking about siblings on the day of the alarm.

"Deku, is that your sister?" She whispered in awe.

Izuku wordlessly nodded.

"She looks so cool."

Izuku was mentally screaming to himself. Wondering what she was doing there. And why!

"It's nice to meet you." She spoke, holding up a hand a smile behind her helmet. They could hear it in her voice.

"I'm sure a few of you know who I am, and a few of you don't. I'm more well known in certain areas for what I do."

A few of the students looked from her to each other, before a certain electric user student raised his hand. "Uh...Who exactly are you?" He asked.

Katsuki scoffed and slammed a hand on his desk before looking at him. "Are you fucking serious you knock off Pikachu? Her name is Guardian, the Hero of Light! Fucking idiot."

"Your mouth." Aqua snapped at him, her tone changing.

Katsuki immediately shut up.

Everyone took notice of his quick obedience, making mental notes to themselves. Even All Might was surprised to see his sudden attitude change. There was a bit of awkward silence before she spoke up again, looking at All Might.

"We're heading to the gym right?" She asked.

"Yes, that's right."

"Alright, I'll meet you over there." She said, giving a wave to the students as All Might looked over them once again.

"Well, you heard her. We'll be heading to the gym, go get changed." He gave his signature smile and took off in a gust of wind.

Katsuki was the first to get up and head out, still quiet. Although a few students noticed an air of excitement around him.

Tenya and Ochako looked at Izuku who was staring down at his desk, limbs stiff and mind running miles a minute. They could see him shifting through panic, confusion, and what almost looked like anger through his eyes.

The two looked at each other before looking back to their green haired friend.

"Deku?"

Izuku suddenly looked up at them to see their worried expressions.

"Are you alright Izuku?" Tenya asked.

Izuku almost had to urge to take a page from Katsuki's book and say 'I'm fucked'.

 **-LotF-**

"You did good today." Aqua said to her brother as they washed the dishes. "Although you tend to leave your left open."

"That doesn't mean you had to kick the crap out of me." Izuku glared at her, rubbing at the small bruise on his side. Aqua offered to heal him but he refused, and he didn't want to bother Recovery Girl.

"At least now you won't leave that side open now will you?" She asked. That was how she had learned, getting beaten up wherever she left herself open. "But I have to admit, you're pretty good at evading."

 _I_ _had_ _to get good at it_.

"No, I won't." He said, grabbing a plate from her.

He had planned on sparring with Tenya, wanting to learn a few of his moves. He knew he couldn't control One For All, and if he messed up his arms every time he used it at 100% then he might not be able to use them. He had to use whatever he had and he had to learn it quick.

When it was his turn to go up against Aqua, being pulled from a small match with Kaminari, who hadn't used her weapon, thank god, and just used hand to hand like with everyone else. Quirk usage was encouraged for the students, All Might and Guardian had to hold back.

Izuku almost thought Aqua actually went hard on him purposely, but in the back of his mind he The just knew his lack of fighting skills were to blame.

Out of everyone, Katsuki and Todoroki had lasted longest against her. They had even gotten a few hits in, mildly staggering her but not enough to daze her long enough to take her down. It was a bit sad how some thought because she didn't use her weapons she'd be an easy take down.

While fighting her he tried to find some kind of control over One For All, to grasp onto something. He never got the chance, too busy on trying to dodge her jabs and attacks. Instead what almost answered him were a few flames, he felt them, and quelled them before taking his own swing at her.

It was blocked and he was knocked to the ground. Afterwards he went off to spar against Tenya and Ochako, trying to ignore the burning shame on his face.

He couldn't help but see how All Might had flinched as he was knocked down, seemingly with no mercy. When that was far from the truth, she _was_ merciful.

"Hey." She nudged him gently, grabbing his attention. "Listen, we need to talk."

There it was.

"Shouta...told me about how you've been breaking your bones." She said, glancing at him. His eyes were downcast, focusing on the stained plate. "Using wind magic." She added.

"...Yeah." He muttered.

"I thought you had it under control."

"I do, for the most part." He lied.

"Breaking your bones is far from control Izuku."

"I am handling it." He huffed, feeling his hands starting to heat up. He grit his teeth as he tried to push down the power tied in with his irritation.

"How?" She asked in disbelief.

"I'm getting stronger, my body will be able to take the recoil. I just have to work on siphoning off part of it." A piece of the truth.

"As brilliant your idea of using wind magic to make your hits stronger, you end up breaking your body in order to do it! How long until you're finally able to master that method? You do that too many times, there's not going to be anything left Izuku." She kept her voice firm.

 _You're going to manifest a Keyblade soon enough, you can't break yourself._

Izuku shook his head. "Oh my…" He placed a bowl down a bit too loud. "Why are you so worried now all of a sudden?" He asked, a few flames flaring up from his hands.

"Excuse me?" She asked.

"Aqua, I've been dealing with this on my own for a while now. I've done a lot without you around. So why now? Why do you seem so concerned now?"

 _Because I supposedly mastered my magic? Because now you think I'm I'm actually useful to you? That NOW I'm worth the time?_

"Because I am your sister. And I am well versed in all this, I can help."

"I've gotten this far without your help." He snapped. "I didn't need it then, I don't need it now." He forced his flames down. They did not belong to him, they were a mere reflection of something she had. Something that would never be his.

 _I reject your power..._

"You can't do this on your own." She shot back. She hadn't been able to do it on her own, it was her fault Izuku had gotten this far with so little instruction. So far that he turned to breaking himself!

Izuku seemed to bristle at her words, his mind going back to that dark place where that silhouette said the same thing. But this time he couldn't help but feel like it was an insult.

"Watch me!" He growled.

 _I reject you._

She looked shocked at his outburst before her own came forward.

"How far do you expect to go with this? You're hurting yourself Izuku and I won't let you break your body any more than you already have!"

"Pretty damn far! And I'd like to see you try!" He yelled, slamming a hand on the counter.

"Hey!" They looked up, their mother standing at the entrance of the kitchen. A disapproving look on her face. "What are you two doing?" She asked.

They looked around the kitchen, a mess of ice with a bit of burnt items.

They had no excuse as they merely looked down.

Inko looked over the kitchen and let out a long sigh before rubbing her eyes. "I expect you two to clean this up. Understand?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am." They both muttered. They shot each other a look, one communicating something entirely different from the other.

The entire time they spent cleaning Izuku hid his flinches of pain. His palms suffering from all too familiar burns. In their anger they refused to say or look at each other. Aqua's mind had gone running on how to fix this. How to get her brother to see reason. Where Izuku was mostly focused on proving her wrong, refusing to see her point of view. Telling himself he'd be able to control One For All soon enough, he doesn't need her power.

They got their mess cleaned up quickly and went to their respective rooms. Slamming the door at each other. Inko was pretty sure they nearly came off their hinges.

Inko merely looked over the kitchen, before walking down the hall and looking at the two doors. She could hear shuffling in both of them, no doubt they were pacing. Probably venting to themselves.

She had considered seeing the two of them separately, but decided against it for the time being. She had to let them cool down first. She wasn't going to get anything out of them while they were seething at each other.

The next day had gone as smoothly as it could go between two seething siblings who had to be near each other almost all day. They kept to themselves in the halls, kept their words short.

Aqua couldn't help but always check up on him every once in a while. Whenever he was with Tenya and that girl, Ochako, he seemed happy. A lot more relaxed than he was around her. She also noticed that Katsuki was stuck in a small group of his own. He didn't really engage with them too much, but rather just snapped and made an off hand comment every once in a while. Whenever she talked with him, he had actually seemed pretty happy with her return.

Seems those two might have grown apart.

"Oh, excuse me!" A man said, accidentally bumping into her.

Aqua was about to apologize when she realized who it was.

"Oh, hey it's you. Yagi right?" She asked, stepping back a bit to give him room.

He coughed before nodding, the withered man giving a smile. "Ah, you're Young Midoriya's sister right?" He asked.

"Er, yeah. Yeah, that's me. But I usually go by Guardian around here." She said.

"Ah, right. Apologies." He said. "Oh, thank you for the candy suggestion. Recovery Girl was actually much more…"

"Nicer?" She offered.

He nodded. He suddenly stopped as his phone went off. He looked down at it, a small memo to himself. He sighed and covered his mouth as he let out another cough. Aqua felt a sting of worry as she thought she saw a bit of crimson in his hand.

He quickly excused himself and left, rushing off to where she would guess would be Recovery Girl's office. She couldn't help but feel like she had seen him before, he was familiar in a way. But one thing she was a bit more confused over, was how did he know Izuku? Was he one of the teachers?

She sighed to herself and shook her head, she'd ask someone about it later. Probably Shouta, they seemed to know each other well. Even if he was still on Shouta's 'irritated tone' list.

"Oi."

Speaking of Shouta.

"Go eat something. If you're not going to then you can suffer as you do paperwork."

"Paperwork?"

"You really think being a teacher doesn't come with its own paperwork? You're funny." He looked at her. "There's some last minute stuff for the facility trip tomorrow." He shook his head.

"And why…"

"Because you're going to be one of the teachers going with us. You've dealt with natural disasters haven't you?" He asked.

"Well yeah, but-"

"We're just going to be teaching them how to deal those certain situations when they arise. It's not like I'm asking you to stop an earthquake."

"Ah, I see…"

They stood there for a moment before Shouta spoke up again. "Last chance to get something to eat before I drag you off to paperwork hell."

"Alright alright, I hear you. Jeez I thought Hizashi was the one who was supposed to take care of us."

"He takes care of me, I take care of you whenever you do something stupid; or are about to when Tensei isn't here."

"Fair enough." She shrugged. They walked into the lunchroom in silence and grabbed their food. As they walked down the hall to the lounge.

"Hey, Shouta?" She asked after a bit.

"What?"

"You mind telling me who this Yagi guy is? And why he seems to know my brother?"

 **-SotP-**

"All I'm saying is that if you're gonna be a hero, you should really work on your attitude." Denki said as he held up a finger. "I mean, we haven't even known each other for that long, but everyone already knows your personality is just a flaming pile of garbage."

"What did you just say to me!" He raised his voice.

"And that's why people would probably be more scared of him." Tsuyu said as she glanced at the friends around her.

"Keep it up! I'll kick your ass!" Katsuki yelled.

"See?" She smiled. Sending Ochako and a few others into a laughing fit.

Meanwhile Izuku was off to the side, seeming to be suffering from an existential crisis. For once he wasn't being made fun of.

Aqua shifted uncomfortably in her seat as Shouta tried to take a nap.

The woman fiddles with her charm, eyes downcast.

It had been bothering her from the moment she woke up. For while that feeling she had, of someone being close had seemed to amplify itself. That tether that she had though was snapped, broken by time and tragedy.

Now it was pulled taut, burning in her chest. Like she was being drawn to them, but she still couldn't place where it was coming from. It felt like it was everywhere, buzzing around her.

"What did you say? I'll kick your ass!" She heard Katsuki raise his voice.

"See?" A girl, who she found out her name was Tsuyu.

Around her a few people had started to laugh while Izuku looked stunned at that. Like he was surprised someone would make fun of the blond.

She sighed to herself and put the charm away, feeling the bus slowly come to a stop. Everyone got to their feet and stretched before filing off.

Aqua had stood by Shouta as she watched them chatter amongst themselves and head into the facility.

"Hey." Aqua muttered. "Where's All Might?" She asked. He was supposed to be there with them.

"He ran into something on the way here, he'll be here in a bit." He shook his head. Nobody had the chance to tell her about All Might's situation. Either someone was getting pulled away or the classes just ate up all the time they had. He would have explained it to her, but with the students being so close he didn't want to risk any of them hearing him.

"Mhm." They walked in after the kids, who were gaping in awe at the scene before them. Even Aqua had nearly stopped in her tracks at the sight.

Above them was a large dome that protected the area. There were large disaster sites scattered around. Water zones, fire zones, landslides, mountains, collapsed urban areas, she thought she had even spotted a snowy area.

It almost looked like an amusement park.

"Welcome to USJ!" Greeted Thirteen, another hero. She began to explain the workings of the facility, and how her Quirk quirked. How every Quirk was a double edged sword, that can help or harm anyone. Aqua listened with interest as she walked to stand in front of the students with Shouta.

She smiled to herself as she saw Izuku and his friend whispering to each other excitedly about them. How they were useful in disaster situations, and how amazing their Quirk was.

She thought she overheard the girl saying she wanted to be a rescue hero, just like 13.

"Thank you for listening." Thirteen bowed and everyone began to cheer in excitement, fired up.

"Alright, settle down." Shouta said, stepping forward. "Now that that's over, we'll be-"

He was cut off when a loud crackling noise rang out, startling the group. It started over one of the bright lights, and spread out all around.

The students looked around in confusion.

"What's going on?" A few of them asked.

The fountain in the center slowly turned off, water shutting off as dark shadow began to take form. A harsh jolt went through Aqua as she and Shouta whirled around to see the dark, purple shadow expand to a large wall.

The first one to emerge from the shadows was a man covered in hands. He stepped out, and no sooner that he did other people began to lumber out quickly, moving forward.

"Woah is the exercise starting already?" Someone asked. "I thought we were just rescuing people..."

Izuku was one of the students who tried to step forward to see the large group.

"Don't move!" Aqua said harshly, making the others flinch.

"This isn't an exercise." Shouta announced as he put his goggles on. "This is real, those are real villains." He huffed.

"V-Villains?"

"You gonna go in barehanded?" He asked, looking over to his friend.

"For now, yes." She nodded, raising a fist as a whirlwind of ice surrounded her. It suddenly stopped as a ring of spiked ice surrounded her, a first line of defense.

From the top of the stairs the three heroes noticed the man with the hands looking around as a large figure appeared behind him, a grotesque creature with an exposed brain. Soulless red eyes darted around before the man held up a hand as if it calm the beast.

"The only real heroes I see are Thirteen, Eraserhead, and that armored one, Guardian I assume. Strange, according to the schedule All Might should be here." A chilling voice spoke, the one made of mist. A somewhat face seemed to appear, chilling bright yellow eyes narrowed into slits as he stood by the hand man.

"You took advantage of the chaos when the press got in." Eraser growled.

Aqua scowled beneath her helmet. "I shouldn't have left to go chasing after that thing." She huffed.

The two heroes glared at the leader as he began to speak.

"Where is All Might? He should be here, after all I bought so many friends who wanted to see the Symbol of Peace." He muttered, shaking his head. "Oh well, maybe if I kill a few kids he'll come out to play!"

 _Over my dead body!_

Another icy wind surrounded Aqua as Shouta's scarf flared out.

"No way, how did so many villains get in here? Wasn't this place secure?" The redhead, Kirishima asked.

"Yeah, why aren't the alarms going off!"

Shouta narrowed his eyes. "One of these punks must have a Quirk that hides their presence."

"They planned this out well." a student hummed. "They chose to strike at an isolated area, they clearly have some goal in mind."

"Thirteen, get them out of here." Shouta ordered as he and his friend stepped forward. "Find a way to get into contact with the main campus, if they cancelled out the security system they must have jammed communications too!"

"Right!" Thirteen nodded.

"Guardian." He looked at her.

"I'll cover you." She nodded." For now let's just take out as many as we can. Dwindle their numbers before anything else unsightly shows up."

He gave her a look. "You don't think…"

"I'm going to hope not." She planted a foot into the ground, leaning forward. "Come on!" She yelled, taking off alongside him.

Izuku lingered behind as the others began to make a break for the entrance.

"Izuku come on!" Tenya yelled.

His lips drew into a thin line as he took a step back, watching his sister and teacher throw themselves into the midst of battle. He knew Shouta's Quirk was better suited for one-on-one combat and stealth missions. Aqua's was far better for dealing with large crowds, she could freeze them and take it from there.

"Come on!" Tenya ran back and grabbed his arm and started running towards the entrance.

 **.-.**

"Firing squad!" Three villains grinned at the two heroes as they flew down the stairs. Before they could fire anything one of them found a kick to the face while the other two's Quirks were cancelled and were slammed into each other.

"Who the hell are they?" A few more villains came charging towards them, only for a ew of them to be struck down with ice spikes that froze them in place.

"You idiot! That's Eraserhead, he takes away your Quirk!" One villain yelled as he managed to dodge an ice spike and raced towards the hero. "But he can't erase Quirks like mine!" The four armed man reached out to strike him.

"You're right, but you can't hurt me if you can't even touch me." Eraserhead said, stepping out of range and giving a harsh kick to the man before using his capture weapon to grab him and throw him into the range of the other hero who struck him down into the ground.

"Also helps when you have someone to deal with them." Guardian said, surging forward and sending the spikes swirling around her, freezing a few villains in place.

A few more jumped up to avoid her ice and used their Quirks to shoot attacks at her. She grunted and put up a barrier, reflecting their attacks before sending a wave on controlled lightning at them.

There were a set out loud screams as electricity raced through their bodies, ceasing as they hit the ground.

"Eraser, I'm moving forward!" She announced, the first set of ice spikes gone.

"Go!"

She raced forward into a crowd of villains, putting some distance between her and Eraserhead. She dodged every blow they tried to land on her, using a partial barrier to block the attack before letting it shatter on them.

Before she could get any further a large villain with what looked like an unhinged jaw grabbed her arm.

"And where do you think you're going?" He asked, a grin creeping onto his face.

She grinned beneath the helmet. "Nowhere." She said before the last of the ice spikes were buried into the ground around her. The villains around her looked at her in confusion. A few had started to panic before trying to take her down.

They didn't get the chance as she slammed a foot into the ground and wave of ice surged through the area she could reach, freezing a few villains in place. The ice wasn't strong enough to completely freeze them over, and a few of the stronger villains began to break out of their weak prison.

She didn't give them a chance to completely free themselves before she held her hands out and made a sweeping motion. She heard a few screams and yells of confusion before the gravity of the area suddenly increased. She clenched her fists and increased the power until the villains pinned to the ground were unconscious.

She took a moment to catch her breath before looking over to her friend, who had taken down a majority of the villains left.

"Argh! I hate it when heroes live up to their hype." The Hand man growled, scratching at his neck. "Hey!" He yelled. "You said if there was an issue you'd take of it. Do your part!" He yelled, it looked like he wasn't talking to anyone.

The two had been focused on what the villain was saying, they hadn't realized that the dark mist figure had disappeared.

They got their answer when loud screams and yells sounded out from where the entrance was.

"Dammit, the one that causes the most trouble is the one that got away!" Eraserhead growled under his breath.

"No!" Aqua yelled, she would have run towards them in an attempt to stop them; if a random projectile hadn't appeared out of nowhere and struck her in the face, a small crack forming. It startled her and made her jump back.

"Guardian!" Eraserhead yelled, seeing a spiral of the projectiles rushing towards her. She saw what was heading towards her and put up a barrier, the bullets reflecting off of it harmlessly.

The barrage had lasted for a bit before dying down.

"Well, well, well." The two looked up to see a figure stepping out of a dark portal, clad in a dark cloak with the hood up.

His voice sent chills up Aqua's spine, it was so familiar.

"Look at you, it's been a while there; old friend." They could practically hear him grinning.

An image flashed in her mind, and a spark of rage lit in her chest.

"You!" She hissed.

He started laughing and took off the hood, revealing a scarred face, an eyepatch, and long dark hair in a ponytail, streaked with white.

"Nice to see that you remember me so fondly." He teased, crossing his arms. "It's been a while since I've seen you, we're almost at what...10 years? More?" He shrugged. "I hear you go by Guardian now, that's pretty cute."

"Friend of yours?" Eraserhead asked.

"You could call him that." She growled, holding out a hand and summoning her Keyblade.

Eraserhead could feel her silent seething, he grit his teeth as the Mist man appeared next to Hand Job.

"I have scattered the students, Shigaraki." The man announced.

"Good work Kurogiri." He muttered in a gravelly voice. Shigaraki looked up at the creature. "Nomu, go have some fun. Xigbar, do whatever you want."

The two heroes looked at the creature as an eerie grin found itself on its face, it looked at the underground hero before letting out a low growl and racing after him.

"Eraser!" She was about to take off after him as he made the decision to race towards Shigaraki.

"You should pay attention!" Xigbar yelled as he summoned his guns and started letting out a barrage of bullets towards her.

Aqua didn't have enough time to put up a barrier and elected to dodge the bullets and try to make her way towards him. It was difficult, and a bit frustrating as he kept warping from place to place.

After every barrage he'd shoot at her he'd call out 'Reload!' and be still for a crucial second. She would take that second and trade blows with him, keeping him on the defensive in that situation. Having him block her blows with his surprisingly sturdy guns.

Aqua froze when she heard a loud slam and a cackling laugh. She turned to see her friend having his elbow disintegrated as the villain gripped him. Only to be grabbed by that hulking brute and slammed into the ground.

"Eraser!" She screamed, taking off towards him. She formed a half barrier behind her for the bullets. She raised her blade as a bright light began to radiate from it, getting ready to chain the Nomu.

Before she could unleash the spell there was a loud shattering behind her. She didn't have time to look behind her as dark chains, almost similar to hers broke through her barrier and wrapped around her torso, binding her arms to her side.

She yelled as she was dragged back and slammed into the ground, the chains pulled taut.

She saw two pairs of feet walking towards her through her starry vision.

"Hold on now, we're not done here. I never said I was the only one here to meet you." Xigbar said.

Aqua grunted and shook her head, struggling to get up. She made it to her knees before she looked up at the two figures before her.

Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of the second man.

A familiar face that she had grown up with, but the last memory burned into her mind was not a kind one. He still had that white hair, and cruel amber eyes. Instead of what would have been a smile on her friend's face, there was an impassive expression that stared down at her as if she was trash.

"T-Terra…" She whispered, hurrying to her feet and stepping back.

He scowled at the name narrowing his eyes as darkness began to radiate from him

"That is not my name." He muttered as a dark shadow appeared behind him, the one Aqua had faced off against what felt like an eternity ago. It seemed a bit more twitchy and irritable than last time. It was various bandages wrapped around its arms and mouth. Its gaze sent a chill that rocked her to her core.

She felt a harsh tug on their bond.

She grit her teeth and struggled against the chains, moving her hand so she could grab a few of the links.

"You're right." She muttered. "That's not your name. That's my friend's name." She grit her teeth as she sent energy surging through the dark chains. The man watched her in mild surprise as she let out a loud yell, a ringing noise filling the air as the binds began to lose their dark color.

She let out one more yell as a bright light radiated from her figure, filling the area before it died down. She panted as she summoned her blade, the chains no longer bound her but surrounded her. They looked like they were pulled tight over a sphere around her.

She glared at him as she raised her Keyblade.

"You are going to set my friend free, give him back his heart. Then _you_ are going to leave with your little friends and never come back here." She growled.

Xigbar started to laugh. "Now we're talking!" He snapped his fingers an array of those creatures appeared. The ones with crossbows raised their weapons at her, and the seemingly 'generic' ones moved in place and seemed to wait for a command.

She took a moment before taking in a deep breath.

She held out her Keyblade as a bright light surrounded the weapon. She tossed it in the air, the shaft extended from both ends of the handle, creating a long staff as the teeth glowed brightly and extended forward into a curved edge, still having to indentions the normal form has.

It fell back down towards her, and as she grabbed the newly formed scythe, a few strange designs appeared on her armor, seeming to shift and move over her clothes with each movement.

She spun the scythe in her hands before slamming the blade into the ground, cracking the pavement beneath it.

 _I'll be there as soon as I can Shouta…_

She glanced to the side to see her friend dancing between the Nomu and Shigaraki, trying his best to avoid everything they're throwing at him. His elbow was bleeding, and there was a bloody patch on his face.

 _Just hang on._

 **.-.**

Izuku screamed as he was sent flying through the air, he hadn't been able to dodge the dark cloud of mist in time and was sent hurtling through a dark space.

His screams were cut off as he was plunged into cold water.

He grit his teeth and looked around in a daze, confused as to where he ended up.

 _All those villains...I don't think even Aqua_ _and_ _Shocchan can handle so many on their own. How long until she burns out? What if Shoucchan ends up getting overpowered by a villain?_

He didn't have long to dwell on his worries as he saw something moving in the deeper parts of the water. He squinted to try and see what it was, his panic rising as he realized it was a person heading straight for him.

Sharp teeth and even sharper webbed claws. There was a high pitched muffled cackle as the villain raced for him.

Izuku began to flail around in a panic and tried to swim to the surface. He was almost there when he felt a tight grip on his ankle and was yanked down, deeper into the water.

He struggled to hold his breath as he struggled and tried to kick at the villain.

He felt himself starting to get dizzy as he was dragged deeper and deeper, his lungs burning and aching for oxygen. Amidst his panic he began to feel a dull sparking around him.

 _Let me go._

He still continued to struggle as the man cackled and dragged him deeper and deeper, clearly taking pleasure in drowning him. He was saying something, but Izuku couldn't hear the words through the ringing of his ears.

 _Let me go!_

He grit his teeth and still continued to struggle, the sparking growing stronger.

The man finally stopped dragging him down and faced him, knowing the boy wouldn't last much longer.

He saw a set of claws about to rake across him when he felt another surge of panic race through him. He held out his hands and felt a surge of electricity run through him as a hit connected. He could hear muffled screaming as he felt himself go numb, hard to move.

He attempted to swim for the surface, until he felt something wrap around his waist and start to drag him upwards. He tried to struggle against the unknown assailant, his lungs were burning, and his vision started to go spotty until he felt himself be dropped onto something hard.

He coughed and found himself gasping for air after someone slapped him.

His movement was automatic as he turned on his side and coughed up what he felt like was water in his lungs. Taking in oxygen like it was the most precious thing in the world.

"Midoriya, are you okay?" He heard someone ask him. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to get to you faster, ribbit."

He looked up and saw the the concerned face of Asui. Meanwhile the purple haired, grap kid, Mineta, waspacing. Saying something about how they killed him.

"Asui?" He asked, sitting up.

She look relieved and smiled. "You can call me Tsu." She said.

"Oh! He's alive!" Moneta ran over to him and looked at the greenette. "I thought they killed you!" He cried. "But now that you're still alive they're gonna try to kill all three of us in one swoop!"

"H-Hold on!" Izuku slowly got to his feet and shook his head. "What's going on?"

"There are villains in the water!" Mineta yelled.

"I saw you fall in, but you never resurfaced so after I got Mineta to the boat, I went down to get you." She said. It was then Izuku took notice of a few small tears on her costume with small stains of red, clearly she had to fight her way through quite a few of them.

"Thanks." Izuku murmured, a bit of guilt stabbing through him.

Izuku then turned away and looking around on the boat, in the water he could see quite a few villains. Waiting. A few of them were bickering over waiting it out or sinking the ship, he turned his gaze away from them, towards the center of the dome and saw a few flashes of light.

There were two dark shadows that seemed to jab and dodge the bright light he saw from afar.

 _Aqua…_

"We need to get back over there." Izuku said, shaking himself from his thought before he could get in too deep. "Everyone is scattered, and considering they have villains here that means there must be more in the other zones." He started.

"There are villains in the water, how are we supposed to get back to land?" Mineta asked.

"I don't know…" He muttered, looking between the water and the other two. "Before we can do anything, we need to know what abilities we have. I have a strength enhancement Quirk, what about you two?" He asked.

"My quirk is Frog, basically I can do anything a frog can." Tsuyu said.

"My quirk is Pop-Off." He took a ball from his head and stuck it to the boat. "I make these balls that stick to anything. But they don't stick to me." Mineta shrugged. "Sometimes their stickiness depends on how I feel."

He was met with the silent stares of the other two.

"Why are you looking at me like that? It's not might fault my Quirk is useless!"

"Oh, no! It's good, I was just thinking how you could use it." Izuku said, putting his hands up.

"Well, I think you're Quirk will be really useful Midoriya." Tsuyu looked at him. "Is electricity part of your Quirk? I saw you let off a bit in a panic, and stun the villain." She said.

Mineta looked at him in shock.

"H-Huh?" Izuku looked stunned. She had seen that? He wasn't sure whether he was more upset over using his magic or someone seeing it. "N-No! I can't use electricity!" He waved his hands. "L-Listen, before we-woah!"

The boat suddenly began to rock as the waves began to grow violent.

"What is that!" Mineta yelled at a giant hand made of water, raising up, ready to crush the ship in half.

"Come out and play kiddies!" One of the villains taunted as he brought his hand down, the giant hand made of water mimicking his actions.

"Move!" Izuku yelled, hurriedly pulling the other two out of the way as they had nearly gone flying. They skidded away from the damage, but they would be under soon enough. The ship had begun to sink.

 _Crap, crap, crap!_

While Izuku tried to think of a way out Mineta had started to panic and ran over to the side. Grabbing the balls from his head and throwing them randomly in the water; screaming all the while.

"Mineta stop!" Izuku said, trying to calm the boy as he looked around.

He saw a bright flash of light and shadow from the other side, both cancelling each other out. He felt his stomach sink,he let his eyes travel downwards back to the water where he saw the villains warily moving around the balls.

He bit his lip and looked at his fist for a moment before nodding to himself. Mineta and Tsuyu watched him.

"You got a plan there Midoriya?" She asked.

Izuku nodded slowly. "Yeah, yeah I think I do. I just hope it'll work…"

"What are you gonna do?" Mineta asked as Izuku stood up.

"As-Tsu can you grab Mineta? I'm gonna distract them, and it might just buy us enough time to get to mainland."

"What about you? I have a feeling I'll need to grab you." Tsuyu pointed out.

"Yeah...maybe…" He said, clenching his fists. "Alright, ready?" He asked, running a few feet away.

"There you are!" One of the villains yelled.

Izuku nodded to them and got on the railing.

 _What would Kacchan do?_

He had their focus, but he had to make sure to keep it. He took a deep breath and let out a loud yell before jumping off the boat, much to the surprise of the other two.

He heard a few laughs and taunts from the villains as he went falling towards the water. He grit his teeth and held out his left arm, bracing himself.

In the corner of his eye he saw Tsuyu and Mineta take off.

He took a deep breath and let power flow through one of his digits before flicking his finger and releasing a torrent of power that went crashing into the water.

"SMASH!"

He went flying as well and flailed in the air for a moment as villains below him screamed and were dragged into a violent whirlpool. He felt something wrap around his waist as he was dragged through the air and to where Mineta and Tsuyu were, falling towards the water. Away from the villains.

Mineta had started to yell and throwing the sticky balls into the water. They watched the balls stick to the villains and bind them together as they struggled against the current.

They went crashing into the water, not too far from the mainland, and swam quickly.

"How long do you think that'll keep them busy?" Tsuyu asked.

"The balls will stick for a while." Mineta nodded.

They swam in silence for a bit, the sounds of a battle becoming louder and louder, making them all the more nervous.

"So...if we're going to get to the entrance again, how are we going to get past any more villains?" Mineta asked.

"I think Guardian and Aizawa-sensei will be able to clear a path for us." Tsuyu thought aloud. "If they haven't already gotten rid of the villains."

They looked to Izuku for some kind of input.

"Midoriya?" Tsuyu asked.

Izuku's brow furrowed as he bit his lip. "I have a bad feeling…" He answered honestly.

Their hands found solid ground as they stared at him for a moment.

"Midoriya…"

They didn't get a chance to voice their concerns as a bright flash of light and a yell filled the air. Just up ahead they saw Guardian releasing waves upon waves of bright light, cleaving strange creatures in two as she repelled attacks from a man. She had been screaming something at him.

Off to the side they saw a man in a black coat. He had a grin on his scarred face, he seemed perfectly fine in watching the two at the moment. He was panting, and seemed to be reloading his weapons. They saw new rounds appear on them.

After he spotted Aqua and the other two enemies he immediately went looking for Shouta, he was barely able to hold in a gasp once he found him.

He was pinned under a large, muscled creature with a beak and exposed brain. It seemed to take joy in mangling the man's body.

"Shoucchan...Aqua…" He muttered, looking between the two. His eyes widened when he saw the man disappear and suddenly reappear behind Aqua, beginning to fire at her at random.

He looked back to his sister, she had begun to look tired. There were chains around her, a dull gray that had begun to emit a dark aura. They looked ready to wrap around her, barely held away by an invisible force.

"Woah, what's with her weapon?" Mineta asked, watching Guardian twirl and dance with her scythe.

"One of her other forms." Izuku answered almost automatically. "People call it her Reaper Form." he flinched as she took a brutal hit from a dark creature that disappeared after a moment and appeared at the back of one of the men fighting her.

He acted like a guardian of sorts, protecting the man whenever it looked like he going to take a blow.

He felt himself move before he could think. He climbed out of the water, and he would have charged headfirst into any of the two battles if Tsuyu hadn't grabbed his arm.

"Midoriya, what are you doing?" She asked.

"We have to do something!" He hissed, looking at the two fights.

"What are we supposed to do?" Mineta asked. "We're not heroes, we're students! And those are some serious villains!"

Izuku stared at the two for a moment before looking back.

"...We need Aq-Guardian." He reminded himself to use her hero name.

"Huh? But she's fighting two baddies at once!" Mineta pointed out.

"That's why I'm going to distract them." Izuku said simply.

"What!"

Izuku narrowed his eyes. "If I can grab their attention for even a minute, that might be just enough time for her to get that thing off of him and heal him...if she can manage that." He looked at the two.

"Then where are we supposed to go?" Tsuyu asked, concerned. Why was he just putting himself in danger?

"You guys can make a break for the entrance." He answered.

"Sounds good to me." Mineta gave a thumbs up.

"What if we went over to Aizawa?" She asked. "Even if she is able to get that monster off of him, she might not be able to help him. If she can't then wouldn't he be in more danger?" She asked.

Izuku looked at her, then looked down. He hadn't thought of that possibility. He was going too quick.

"Mineta and I can get him to the entrance. We'll move as quick as we can. That way if Guardian can't help him he'll at least be out of that situation." The girl looked at them.

"T-Tsu…"

"You're not the only here Midoriya. We have to work together if we wanna help them. This isn't something we can do on our own."

 _You can't do this on your own…_

He bit his lip before nodding after a moment. "Alright, they're not too far away. You think you can-"

"Don't worry about us Midoriya, we have to-"

She stopped as a loud shattering noise filled the air, scaring the three.

Izuku looked up to see Aqua sent to the ground, rolling away. He could see part of her armor was broken around her chest, arms, and facial area. She looked exhausted, but still managed to get to her feet, holding her Keyblade in front of her.

The man with what he assumed was a Keyblade stood before her, a grin on his face. He didn't have many wounds on him.

He raised his weapon and was about to charge at her.

Izuku didn't think as he suddenly went charging forward, ignoring the yells of his friends.

He sprinted towards the white haired man and started yelling. "You get away from her!" He drew back his left fist.

 _You're gonna kill him!_

 _No. No, control it!_

He saw the shock on Aqua's face as he had seemingly some out of nowhere.

"Izuku!"

"SMASH!" He screamed, sending a punch to the man as wind around him raged violently, a few flames accompanied with it.

Aqua was snapped out of her shock when she looked back to her friend. She acted before she thought and sent chains towards the monster, hearing a loud shriek before a bright flash of light and seeing it bound. Immediately her mind went racing, having seen what Izuku had done.

That, all that wasn't magic. She couldn't sense the kind of energy magic gave of being used, it felt far different compared to a Quirk.

Before she could do anything she saw two other students racing towards their teacher, looking utterly terrified at the beast. The two struggled to get their teacher out from under the beast, but found it slightly easier with it immobilized for a moment.

Izuku looked up at the man, expecting to see some kind of damage done, only to see his fist grasped tightly in the even bigger fist of an eerie shadow monster. It glared down at him with unforgiving yellow eyes.

He was frozen in terror, looking between the creature and the irritated man.

The man stared at him for a moment before scoffing.

"So easily snuffed out." As he said the creature that had his fist tightened its grip.

Izuku whimpered as he felt the bones in his somehow intact arm start to break. The monster didn't end his suffering there, instead it quickly snapped his arm into an awkward position that sent pain throughout his entire body.

He began to scream in pain as he fell to his knees, his pain only escalating as his arm was slowly being turned more and more. He was only freed when he was thrown harshly away from the villain.

He went skidding to a stop near the water he had just emerged from not too long ago. Still screaming and cradling his arm.

He looked through tear blurred eyes and saw the man still facing him, the creature had a dark aura coming from the heart shaped hole in its chest. His mind screamed at him to get up, to get out of there before something happened.

Aqua would have gone racing after her former friend, now that Shouta was out of the way and safe she could divert her attention back to her brother. She had been paying more attention to him, seeing him hurriedly get back to his feet before she saw the main villain, Shigaraki.

She hadn't been able to react fast enough when she felt a dry, calloused hand wrap around her neck.

He clearly expected something to happen, for her to fall apart and crumble to dust. But miraculously his touch did nothing but startle her.

He angrily looked to the side to see the battered Eraserhead staring straight at him, pissed beyond all recognition. Two of the students supported him, still trying to get him out of there.

"You!" He screamed. He would have yelled something else more profane if Aqua hadn't landed a solid punch and send him away with a violent gust of wind. She didn't have time to deal with him.

Though as she lost her focus on keeping the Nomu bound, there was the sound of something shattering. She had barely gotten out of the way of a giant fist trying to grab her. She dashed out of the way only to feel the wrath of Xigbar, who had been waiting for her.

"Quite the predicament you've got yourself in." He commented, looking between the injured teacher, her brother, and the Nomu. "Who to save, who to save."

"Nomu!" Shigaraki yelled, pointing at the group of three scrambling to get away.

Meanwhile her brother stood frozen as the dark creature appeared in front of the man, a dark sphere forming in it's chest. A loud growl resounding through the air.

"You have to make a choice...Master Aqua." Xigbar grinned at the last two words, a mockery of sorts. "Who gets to be saved, and who are you going to let perish?"

Aqua looked between the two who needed her. Time seemed to slow as the Nomu went racing for the students and teacher. Raging darkness went flying towards Izuku, tearing up the ground as it went.

He held up his gun.

"Well?"

Aqua looked at her Keyblade, watching it change back into its original form.

She grit her teeth and looked at him. She didn't have time, and even if she went after one she'd be stopped by _something_. There was no winning here...but still.

"Both!" She hissed, her Keyblade glowing brightly with light.

"Go!" She yelled throwing her Keyblade and sending it flying through the air. It clashed with the wall of darkness, still spinning in midair as Izuku watched in surprise. The darkness only seemed to intensify as time went on, the blade and Izuku being forced back.

Aqua was about to go racing towards the Nomu when Xigbar teleported in front of her and let out a barrage of bullets again. Making her dodge in panic while still trying to reach the horrible monster.

A few of the projectiles struck her, but it didn't matter. By the time she was where the Nomu had previously been it was already upon the three.

"Shouta!" She screamed, reaching a hand forward and sending off an ice spell, trying to do something, anything to take the attention off of them.

From behind she heard a loud boom, and she saw both Izuku and her Keyblade go flying into the water.

Right as the monster was about to crush the three there was a loud crash from the entrance that stopped the Nomu in its tracks. It looked up, red eyes honing in on its target.

A large figure stomped through the dust he kicked up and stood at the top of the stairs.

Aqua looked up in shock, realizing who it was. She almost started crying in relief, and then she saw his face.

He wasn't smiling, no.

He was enraged.

 _He's here…_

"Who is he supposed to be?" Xigbar scowled from not too far behind her.

Aqua whirled around and sent a wave of ice at the man who quickly warped away.

"The Symbol of Peace!" She answered. She heard a growl from the Nomu, and a woosh before a loud crash came from a few ways away. He had the Nomu, she had to take care of Izuku. The man was still standing before the water, his blade drawn; facing her.

"Alright then!" She raced towards the two.

 **.-.**

 _You can't do this on your own…_

He was falling through that dark space again, where the darkness seemed infinite and the light above grew fainter and fainter.

"You're falling a bit too deep." That figure appeared before him, upside down. Or maybe Izuku was the one upside down.

"Soon enough you're not going to be able to find your way out of here." It muttered, grabbing him and sending a jolt through his aching body.

"I told you once, and I'm going to tell you again. You can't do this on your own!"

He grabbed the being's wrist and shook his head. "No! No, I won't use her power. I can get out of this on my own!"

"You are going to die! This is a threat that a fancy little Quirk of yours can do nothing against! Nothing!" The phantom yelled at him.

Izuku said nothing, refusing to believe it.

"...She can't do this on her own either…" It said after a moment. "She needs help, just like you." It looked away before looking at him.

"Are you going to let her die because of your own pettiness? Or are you actually going to do something? What happened to that hero that couldn't just watch while someone else dies?"

He gasped.

"...Make your choice." It muttered, letting him go and letting him fall. Deep into the darkness of that strange place.

He opened his eyes, he was sinking. Before him was his sister's Keyblade, a bright glow coming from it. Lighting up the dark water around him.

He grit his teeth and reached out his uninjured arm.

 _Just this once..._

His hand gripped the blade tightly, a surge of energy rushing through him. Foreign, yet somehow familiar. He felt something else in him flare at the sensation. He felt his broken body slowly healing, renewed vigor.

He quickly righted himself, looking upwards at the light seemed so far away, just like that place. He started to swim upwards, unaware of the green lightning surrounding him. He had to get out of there.

He broke the surface quicker than he thought he would, he wasn't too far away from the shore. From where he was he could see All Might going all out against that creature, and Aqua was still taking on those two on her own. She looked like she was on the losing side of it all, she looked battered, and the chained around her were starting to get closer and closer. She was running out of energy.

He quickly swam over and pulled his soaked body out of the water.

"Fall!" The white haired man screamed as the ground around them turned pitch black and large pillars of energy burst from the ground where Aqua was, wherever she ran to, barely avoiding them.

The man with the guns had lessened his fire, seemingly entertained by all this. Like he knew something.

Izuku's eyes widened as he saw her get grabbed by the monster, struggling for a moment before she was thrown across the way. She put up a barrier, that was barely holding up against the attacks.

With one concentrated blow that man was able to shatter her barrier like it was nothing.

His body acted before he could think, one moment he was before the water, the next there was a loud clang that rang out through the entire dome.

"You're still alive!" The amber eyed man glared down at him. He gasped lightly when he saw the Keyblade.

"So you have the ability to use one as well…" He smirked after a moment. "Yet you can't even manifest your own, how pathetic!"

Izuku yelled as he pushed the man away and thrust an arm forward, the green lightning surging as wind and fire shot out at the man.

"You stay away from her!" He shouted, bringing up the borrowed weapon to block the swing.

"Quite the fire in you." He grinned.

"Shut up!"

Once, twice, the blades clashed. The man swiped at him the third time, but Izuku had ducked under it and pulled his free fist back.

"Detroit…" He felt his lips turn up into a grin. "SMASH!" He screamed his fist hitting the man in his core. He had barely been able to stay on his feet and was sent flying a few feet away, recovering quickly.

He coughed and held his abdomen, glaring at the teenager. He scowled and held up his hand, snapping his fingers.

Izuku didn't know what that meant, but he didn't want to guess or wait around to find out. He didn't hesitate as he raced forward, and as he was about swing the blade it was suddenly stopped. The man held out a hand, a dark cloud surrounding the Keyblade Izuku wielded.

He tried to pull back and move the weapon, but it did nothing. It's like it was frozen in place.

"Now stop getting in the way." He hissed.

The dark guardian appeared behind Izuku, and before he could react he was grabbed by his neck and slammed into the ground. The blade sent away with a clatter.

Waves of pain crashed into Izuku, but he struggled and clawed at the large hand that held him. He yelled as he tried to get out of the hold, hearing someone yell something in the background.

"Get off of me!" He shouted, before earning another harsh slam. He glared up at the beast, his newfound power starting to weaken. His green eyes flared, yellow and blue bleeding into each other.

Out of pure instinct ice began to creep onto the beast as the boy clawed at him. He wasn't going to stop fighting, something in him wouldn't let him stop despite how much everything hurt. He glared into the beady yellow eyes of the creature as it gripped him tightly, as if it was hesitant to give the next blow.

"Obey me!" The man roared, suddenly sending it into a frenzy as a dark mist surrounded it. Once again Izuku was slammed into the ground, his vision going black for a moment. After another moment of his continued weakened struggles he was thrown off to the side.

His shaking limbs tried to lift him up to his knees, but his attempt was stopped with a foot pressing down on his back. He grit his teeth as he stiffly looked up, the man looking down at him with disgust.

"For a moment I had actually expected more from you, but you're just as pathetic as her." He said, expression not changing.

Izuku felt a bit of anger flare up and tried to harder to get up, only for the foot to rise and come down hard on him. Forcing him back down.

"Even more so, you couldn't even last as long." He raised his blade with both hands, the head of the weapon facing downwards at him. "So sad, that your journey must end here."

As he was about to bring the weapon down a large body came flying at him. He barely ducked out of the way before a large fist slammed into him, sending him flying as he skidded to a stop, barely able to stay on his feet.

"Threatening to kill a child." The tall, imposing figure known as All Might scowled at him, he looked ready to murder the white haired man on the spot. "How cowardly." He spat.

"A-All Might…" The boy looked up, tears beginning to well up as he felt a large hand pat his head.

"It's alright my boy, I am here." He said, looking off to the side where the Nomu was recovering from the throw. "I'm just glad I made it in time. That was reckless!" He had seen the entire thing, and took the moment to chastise him before turning back to concern. "Can you move?" He asked, watching the boy slump to the ground tiredly.

"I-I don't think so…" He answered honestly, cheek pressed to the ground. He pushed himself to the limit, and his bones felt like they were on the verge of breaking. He felt done, that newfound strength had left him.

"I'm almost out of time my boy, I don't think I can-"

"Fight that thing All Might, I think I can get out of here…I-I just need a minute." He tried to assure the hero.

All Might looked unsure, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to take on the beast _and_ get his student to safety. There wasn't enough time!

He looked up in time to see the man, holding out his weapon as a dark sphere began to surround him. He was trying to end the fight, did that mean he was at his limit?

He suddenly looked up and sent a ball of energy racing towards the two. It didn't get far as a bright light crashed into it and cancelled it out.

"Terra!" A loud voice shouted.

She appeared in front of the two One For All users and looked up, The dark chains started to wrap around her arms. Digging into her skin. She was almost at her own limit.

"Are you ready to face me again?" The man called.

She looked to the side to see Nomu staring at the group of three.

She said it in a cool voice, enough to send chills down the number one hero's spine.

"All Might, take your fight out of here. I'll take care of Izuku and Terra."

He looked down at her. "Are you sure? What about that other fellow?" He asked. He had spotted him fighting the woman during his own battle.

She looked up at him, blood dripping down her face from a cut on her brow. "I took care of it." She nodded. "Now go."

All Might wordlessly nodded and looked towards the Nomu. Flying off and leaving the two alone.

Aqua looked to her brother, who was barely conscious. She was a upset with him at the moment for a few things, but for now she could overlook that.

She looked back towards the man who had the face of her friend. He was in there somewhere, she knew it. She could feel it.

She had felt it not too long ago, something bubbling to the surface before being pushed down harshly by the man that held him hostage. He was there, but she wasn't sure how to get to him. She had tried to talk to him whenever they clashed, trying to bring him out in any way possible.

It only irritated the man more, and made the creature more and more fidgety.

Aqua grit her teeth as she stepped forward and held out her own weapon. She was almost out of time, there wasn't a lot of energy left for her to spare. If there was she would have healed her brother and sent him off.

She was exhausted, she had to end this one way or another.

She made eye contact with the man as she gripped the Keyblade with two hands and bowed her head, concentrating whatever energy she had around her. A bright light surrounded her just like the man.

With not much holding back the chains they started wrapping tightly around ar arms and waist again, but not binding her arms to her side.

After a moment Aqua looked up, her blue eyes flaring as she and the man went charging towards each other.

"I am putting an end to this!" She shouted, bringing the blade back as the man was about to bring down his own.

"You will perish!" He shouted back.

As soon as their blades had collided her vision went white.

She was on the ground, in a place she didn't know. She mustered up the strength to sit up, her head spun at the small action. Before she could even try to stand up she felt firm hands place themselves on her shoulder, helping her up.

"Who…" She saw no one in front of her, and turned around.

Her breath caught in her throat as she saw him.

"M-Master...Master Eraqus!" She closed the small distance and hugged him tightly, feeling warm arms wrap around her tightly. She wasn't able to hold back the sob that broke through her, he was here. But where exactly _was_ here?

She stopped for a moment and looked up at him. "Master...but…"

"You have not passed, if that is what concerns you." He laughed, watching her expression change into relief, tears still pouring down her face. His expression soon changed to something a bit more somber as he looked up, past her.

She took notice and looked to where his gaze sat, paling with what she saw. There was the white haired man that held Terra's body hostage, and behind him, bounding in dark chains was her dear friend.

He was struggling fiercely, trying to break free. He hadn't taken notice of the two, either he didn't know they were there or he was too scared to break his concentration.

"Terra!" She shouted, making him pause for a moment. Before his struggling resumed.

"He needs you, he can't reclaim his body on his own. But you need to wait for it, you can't go rushing in with no plan." He told her.

"Then how am I going to help him?" She looked at him. "How am I supposed to free him? How am I going to…" She looked up at him, stopping when he put a hand on her shoulder.

"You'll know what to do." He nodded. "You'll know when, I promise. Now go." He smiled.

She took a shuddering breath before wiping her eyes. He turned towards the white haired man and started walking towards him, only stopping when her master called to her.

"Aqua."

She turned around.

He smiled softly. "I'm proud of you."

 **.-.**

The two went flying away from each other from the violent clash, both landing on their feet.

As soon as they both recovered they went flying at each other, blades clashing and singing loudly whenever they collided.

The two danced around each other as they tried to best the other. One trying to buy time, the other trying to end the fight.

Aqua threw out another spell with her hand when she was sure it would land. She did it whenever she needed to put a bit of distance between them, just enough for her to take a breath and jump back in.

Her eyes would dart back to her brother whenever she could allow it, he was still there untouched. He wasn't quite conscious yet, but he was twitching a bit so he was starting to come around.

Occasionally she looked over to the fight between All Might and the Nomu. She had nearly faltered with what she saw in the area. Katsuki and Kirishima had held the mist man in place while Todoroki froze the Nomu in place while All Might struggled to free himself.

She quickly refocused herself and dodged another swing before it could connect.

 _Come on Terra…_

The man threw out three large orbs at her. She dodged one and dispelled the last two before he came flying at her pushing her back before she crashed to the ground.

She was panted, and flipped back onto her feet to avoid another blow.

She shook her head to get rid of the dizziness, wiping the sweat away as they stared at each other.

"I wonder…" He panted, holding her gaze. "How far are you willing to go, to protect your brother?" He asked, pointing the Keyblade at Izuku. He was still on the ground.

"You've spent so much time in this world, and you've grown new attachments." He smirked. "Throwing away your old ones. Would you be able to let another one go, just as easily?"

Aqua paled, and before she had the chance to respond a large wave of darkness went rushing towards him.

"No!" She went running towards the unresponsive boy, who was till out cold.

She didn't have enough strength to do what she did last time. She wasn't even sure she could muster up a barrier strong enough to take the force of that blast.

She threw herself in front of him, putting both hands in front of her.

No sooner had the barrier appeared that it had been shattered and Aqua took the full force of that attack.

She screamed in pain, she didn't even get to hit the ground before more dark chains wrapped around her and dragged her forward before hoisting her into the air.

His outstretched hand slowly turned into a fist, the chains around her getting tighter and tighter. She had begun to gasp for air as a few of the ones around her neck cut off her air.

"T-Terra!" She gasped, unable to pull the chains away. "Terra...please!"

The man seemed to take pleasure in her suffering, grinning at her desperate gasps and choking sounds. Her pleas for her friend to return.

He watched as tears ran down her face, her begging quieting down as she resorted to just trying to get a breath in.

"A shame we never would have been able to clash at that place again." He said simply, swinging his hand down, the body before him falling to the ground. "Farewell, False Master."

She had a choice between putting every last ounce of energy into a barrier to save from the damage she would surely take, or saving it. She wouldn't even have been able to make one, she couldn't focus through the fuzziness in her head.

 _Terra...please…_

 _I'm sorry I wasn't able to come back for you..._

Just as she was about to smash into the ground, she was suddenly scooped up by a large figure.

She looked up to see the dark guardian cradling her tired body in one arm, the other hand had a handful of chains. In one swift movement he shattered the chains and freed her, watching her take in greedy gulps of air.

The man scowled and looked behind him, then back at the creature. "How!" He screamed, watching the prisoner gently lower her to the ground, letting her steady herself.

"You fell to the-" He was cut off as his head was suddenly grabbed by the dark guardian.

Aqua watched through clearing vision as the beast she had come to fear gripped at the bandages wrapped around his mouth. Pulling and tugging harshly until a loud snap resounded through the air.

He slowly took in deep breaths, like he finally had the liberty to breathe freely again.

Aqua nearly bursted into tears as she heard his voice, watching him hold out the man that held his body hostage.

"I will...set this right!" He growled. "I will return...to protect my friends!" He roared. The hollow heart shape began to emit a bright glow.

Aqua grit her teeth and summoned Master Defender, shouting as she put everything she had left into one more spell. A bright glow surrounded her body before transferring to the Keyblade. She pointed it at the man.

This is what Master Eraqus meant.

"Now Terra!" She screamed, a ray of pure light coming from the weapon and striking the man. He screamed as his began to be consumed by it.

He stepped back and gathered every bit of himself, everything that had been trapped in that empty husk for so long. The form he used to call his prison dissipated as his heart appeared and shot towards his true body.

The man's voice rang out one last time in agony as he faded away, completely consumed by the light. Forced out of the stolen body.

There was a deafening crash as the light flared out one more time.

He fell to the ground on unsteady feet, barely able to stay upright. He looked up to her, before taking a shaking step forward. He didn't get far, and fell to his knees.

"Terra!" She desummoned her weapon and sprinted towards him, nearly throwing herself at him. At first she had kept a small distance, kneeling in front of him, scared to touch.

"T-Terra...it's you right? I-It's really you?" She asked.

He looked up, bright blue eyes staring into her own. He smiled brightly at the sight of her.

"Yes. It's me!"

The two began to bawl loudly as they hugged each other. Over 10 years they had been apart, 10 years too many.

Terra held her tightly, as if he was scared he was going to lose her again.

"Aqua…" He said through his sobs. "W-Where are…"

She shook her head. "It's fine, it's fine. We're safe, it's fine." She assured. She felt him let out a long sigh before slumping a bit.

"I feel like I got hit by a freight train." He muttered softly.

Aqua laid him down with a weak chuckle. "Y-You kind of were."

"Ah." He muttered. "That explains it."

"Yeah." She smiled.

From afar a man in a black coat huffed. "The old coot won't be too happy about this." He muttered, shaking his head. "Still though, a pretty touching reunion." He held up his guns and let a charge build up.

Izuku groaned and slowly sat up, finally able to pull himself out of unconsciousness. His entire body felt sore, and the world felt like it was spinning.

He tried to shake the dizziness away, only making it worse.

He willed the world to steady itself as he looked around, trying to figure out what had been going on. He saw his sister a sobbing mess as she hugged what looked like the man she was fighting with just a few minutes earlier.

Then across the way he could see the man in the black coat. There was a hum coming from his weapon as he seemed to charge a large blast aimed right at the two.

He fought through the dizziness and scrambled to his feet sprinting towards him. He raced towards the man, green lighting crackling around him.

He shouted as he grabbed the weapon and tried to wrangle it from his grasp.

"Don't...hurt her!" He grit his teeth, using all his willpower to stay on his feet.

"You're still on your feet huh? After that kind of beating? Gotta say that's pretty impressive." Xigbar smirked, did the kid not realize that if he were to press the trigger he'd take the blast head on?

Izuku said nothing, unable to think of anything to say. He was just trying to aim the weapon away from the main target.

He was still too out of it to block the hit that sent him to the ground in a daze.

"You might actually be worth keeping around."

There was a small ringing noise from his weapons that signalled they were ready.

From across the way Izuku saw All Might staring down the man covered in hands. He was tired, at his limit. He wouldn't be able to take him on even if he wanted.

Izuku looked back at Xigbar.

Just as he pressed the trigger Izuku used whatever strength he had left and shoved the man in the black coat. He managed to take the aim away from the two, and towards Shigaraki and Kurogiri, just as the angry man-child was about to charge the number one hero.

Shigaraki saw the large blast heading straight towards him.

And Kurogiri jumped in last minute and used his warp Quirk to send the blast right back at them.

It had happened to quickly that he wasn't sure that it had actually happened. The man in the coat disappeared and left Izuku to take the brunt of the damage. Just as it was about collide with him there was a deafening boom and he felt a hand roughly grab the back of his shirt.

He was pulled from what would have been a devastating injury and sent sprawling away. His savior landing right next to him.

He was about to look at who it was when he felt a punch to his head.

"Fucking idiot! The hell were you thinking!" Katsuki yelled at him. He growled and held up a charm that was thought to be destroyed. "You'd be fucking dead if it weren't for me to damn nerd!"

Izuku laid his head down. "Thanks Kacchan…" He muttered.

The two looked up when the sound of gunshots rang out, and cry of pain from the blue haired man was heard.

There was a loud scream from none other than Hizashi as other pros went racing into USJ.

"The pros are here…" Aqua murmured, holding the hand of her now unconscious friend.

It was finally over.

 **-LotF-**

 **Wowie this took a lot longer to write than I thought. I ended up scrapping the first two drafts of this chapter, but yeah.**

 **Sorry it took so long to get out, but I hope y'all enjoyed!**

 **Not much else to say, so yeah.**

 **Have a nice day/night everybody!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Coming Home**

A week had passed since the USJ incident, all the villains that had been left behind were arrested and taken to prison.

Izuku and Shouta who had seemingly gotten the worst of the battle had been rushed to Recovery Girl alongside All Might.

Aqua had insisted she'd be fine, and wanted to stay with her friend who had been taken to the hospital as well. It took a few threats from Recovery Girl until she finally agreed to settle down and be treated.

Within the week Izuku had been discharged, but restricted in activity. He still had a nasty concussion. Aqua stayed in the hospital with Shouta, using whatever energy she had recovered to heal him, bits at a time. He would growl at her whenever he was awake to knock it off and get some rest, needless to say she refused to listen.

Much to her dismay, Terra had been put under watch.

Someone had let slip that he was a villain, and immediately he was handcuffed to the hospital bed despite being unconscious, and had a pair of officers standing outside his room. It had taken a lot of insistence and a few harsh words but she had been allowed access.

She was a hero after all, and who better to keep a dangerous criminal in line than the one who defeated him?

She would switch between sitting with Terra and Shouta depending who was there. If Yamada was there she'd leave him with Shouta and visit Terra, who had yet to wake up.

Ever since he had fallen unconscious he hadn't woken up, despite his injuries healing just fine so far, and no notable damage to his head he was still asleep.

If anything it just sent her into another fit of worry and underlying guilt. She thought she did this to him, then tried to talk herself out of it. He had finally reclaimed his body, so surely there might be some backlash right?

She spent a majority of her time at the bedside of the two, still feeling guilty over Shouta as well. She hadn't been there to stop the Nomu from causing him harm. If only she had been a little faster.

Aqua currently sat at the bedside of her friend Shouta, she look ragged. She hadn't gotten much sleep other than the few minutes she allowed herself. She hadn't been eating much either, and she only took a rinse off when she figured she had enough time.

"She's going downhill…" Nemuri muttered, looking worriedly at Aqua.

"She still blames herself for letting Shouta get hurt." Hizashi shook his head. "And that guy," he fought a scowl on his face. "He's causing her a lot of distress and I am not cool with that."

The two watched Aqua lightly nap. She wore a pair of sweatpants and a muscle shirt underneath the hospital gown. A few clothes Nemuri lent to her. Her hair was disheveled and all over the place. She looked exhausted.

"Maybe we should call him." Nemuri murmured, earning a shocked look from Hizashi.

"Aren't they kind of fighting right now?" He asked.

"Hizashi, they love each other. And I'm sure that Tensei would put aside whatever disagreement they have to help her out. He knows how to help her, he knows how she can get."

"Alright but I'm not making that call alone." He crossed his arms.

"Yeah, you're not." She nodded. "We're _both_ making the call. Come on." Nemuri grabbed his arm and started to drag him away to a private waiting room. Along the way they ended up running into Inko who had come with a duffel bag.

"Oh, Ms. Midoriya!" Nemuri greeted as she stopped in her tracks.

The woman saw the two and smiled softly, looking relieved. She walked over to the two and gave them a hug. "Hizashi, Nemuri. It's good to see you."

They nodded and hugged her back.

"Good to see you too Mama Midoriya." Hizashi smiled. "How's the little listener?" He asked. He hadn't been able to see Izuku in a while. He would spend a better part of the school day in Recovery Girl's office when his head began to ache something fierce. He would often be scolded by the old woman who told him he should have stayed home.

"Izuku's okay. Still shaken up, but overall he seems good. I've had him stay home these last two days and he seems a bit better."

Hizashi nodded.

"How's Aqua?" Inko asked. "I'm sorry I didn't come to see her sooner." She looked a bit upset.

The two looked at each other before answering.

"Aqua is…" Nemuri started, not sure how to put it.

"I think seeing you might help. She's not feeling too good about the aftermath of it all. Maybe you can get her to eat and get some rest? She's just been staying at the Shouta's bedside, and this other guy who was there. A villain that she seems to care about for some reason." He grit his teeth.

Inko looked concerned before steeling herself.

"Thank you for being honest with me, I'm going to go see her now." She walked past them before stopping for a moment, and turning towards them. "Does Tensei know about the situation?" She asked.

"We were about to call him." Nemuri held up her phone.

"Good." She walked off hurriedly.

The two were quiet for a moment before Hizashi spoke up.

"Well now he kinda _have_ to. We're under Mama Midoriya's orders now." Hizashi coughed.

"Yup." Nemuri nodded.

They were able to find an empty room and locked the door behind them before Nemuri dialed the number. She and Hizashi didn't get much time to plan what they were going to say them the line almost immediately picked up.

"Hello?" He sounded tired, there was the sound of a coffee machine loudly whirring in the background.

"Hey Tensei." Nemuri started.

"Hey bud." Hizashi announced his presence.

There was a short laugh. "Hey guys, how are you?" He smiled. He was waiting for the voice of Shouta to show up. "Let's see there's Nemuri, Hizashi...is Shouta hiding somewhere in the back?" He asked.

The two went quiet.

"You're quiet. What's wrong?" He suddenly sounded more concerned, alert.

"There was a villain attack at the school, at the USJ area. Shouta took a beating, so did Aqua."

"Are they okay!" They could see him standing up suddenly, there was the sound of something knocking over. "What about Tenya? And Izuku?"

"Shouta has been in and out of consciousness, Aqua's been pulling overtime in trying to heal him in small bursts. Izuku was discharged a little while ago he was one of the ones who had gotten the worst of it all, and Tenya got out unscatched don't worry. He was the one who told us about the villain attack." Hizashi explained.

"And Aqua?" He sounded far from angry, that was certainly a good sign.

"Some stuff happened Tensei." Nemuri started.

"Oh god!"

"She's awake! Don't worry, she's not comatose or anything she's fine. Like we said she's up and walking, she's fine. Physically…" Nemuri was quick to calm his panic.

"What happened?" He asked.

"We don't really have all the details about the battle...so…"

There was the sound of a door being thrown open and something falling to the ground. There was sound of barking accompanied the noise.

"I'll see you guys later." He hung up.

The two looked at each other.

"So is he coming?"

"I think so."

 **-SotP-**

"How are you feeling Izuku?" Tenya walked slowly beside his friend who insisted on getting out and doing something. He couldn't focus enough on writing, but he couldn't bring himself to sit still. He was barely able to keep himself still long enough to finish his little surprise.

Tenya and Ochako offered to visit and he took the opportunity to say yes.

"Tired, but not as bad as before." He answered, fingering the two boxes in his pocket. Making sure they were secure.

"Are you sure? You have those bags under your eyes." Ochako looked concerned.

Izuku said nothing as he looked to the side. "I sleep when I can." He muttered. Ochako looked confused, but Tenya got the message and nodded.

"As long as you try to get some rest, have you tried drinking tea? My brother would go on about this lavender tea that helped him." He waved his arms around as they turned the corner to a park two of the trio knew well.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"I'm sure my brother wouldn't mind if I took some for the benefit of my friend...I may or may not use it as well." He smiled.

"Ooh Iida, a rebel." Ochako teased.

"Don't call me that!"

The three started to laugh as they walked into the park. Taking their seats on the swings. They swung lightly, just enjoying each other's company in comfortable silence for a while.

"Hey, Deku." Ochako looked at him. "How's your sister doing?" She asked. "And do you know anything about Aizawa-sensei?"

Izuku let out a long sigh. "She's doing okay. She's still at the hospital though, mom went to see her. I'm not too sure about Shouchan, sorry. Before I was discharged I went to see him and he was still unconscious. But Yamada was there with him."

"At least they have a good support system." Tenya nodded. "Hopefully Tensei will come by once he hears about what happened. I haven't been able to call him, it just keeps going to voicemail."

"He might be busy." Ochako offered. "And how do you know he hasn't heard already?"

"That's true, Mic and Midnight might have already told him about what happened." Izuku said.

Tenya began to nod quickly. "Yes! Of course, I should have taken that into account."

"You think you're going to be able to come back to school soon? A few of the others are worried about you. Tsu asked me to check on you too." Ochako looked back to Izuku.

He shrugged. "I think now that I'm a bit better Recovery Girl might give me one last healing session and then I'll be good to go. I've been gone for too long, I've probably fallen behind so much." He bit his lip.

"Izuku, don't think like that!" Tenya looked at him. "You haven't missed much, don't worry. I brought over a few of the notes we took, but overall the teachers have been going easy. No doubt that may change soon enough. I think they wanted to give us a bit of time to recover."

Izuku gave his friend a look. "I'm not sure if you're trying to make me feel better or…"

"Tenya!" Ochako gave him a look.

He coughed. "What I mean is that you'll be okay. You haven't fallen behind, it's fine." He said simply.

"You should have started with that." Izuku laughed.

"Right?" Ochako grinned.

"Why do the two of you insist on ganging up on me!" He started doing his chopping motions as he swung past them on the swing.

"We're not!" Izuku looked at him as Ochako laughed.

"I would expect better from my fellow hero students!" He mocked hurt, before breaking down laughing with the other two.

Izuku felt happy, happier than he felt felt in a while. There was no stress, no tension. It was just him and the two he could freely call his friends. That in itself made him even happier. He wasn't alone like he used to be, and as awkward he could be they accepted it with open arms.

It felt nice just to sit in the cool air and just _be_. To just be with his friends and enjoy their company. Not necessarily having to do anything.

Once again they settled into a comfortable silence, occasionally making a comment about the weather, or something neat they saw online. Moving from the swings, to the the benches, and even a small climb in the playground structure.

"Hey, you guys." Izuku said after a bit.

"Hm?" They both looked at him.

"I uh, I have a little something for you guys." He started, shifting a bit.

"Oh?" Tenya watched him.

"What is it?" Ochako tilted her head.

Izuku coughed as he pulled two small boxes from his pocket. He couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.

He held out one to each of them, knowing which one held which. "I uh, I've been working on these for a while." He wrung his hands as they took the boxes. "They're something similar to what I have…"

He bit his lip as they opened them, he heard a gasp as watched the two.

Ochako gapes at her pink, star shaped charm. It had a long brown string attached to it, a few small beads of black and pink on the end.

Tenya smiled at his, a dark blue with a few streaks of white near the middle where the symbol meets. His had blue and white beads.

Izuku felt his face turn red as he pulled his own out from under his sweater, where it always sat around his neck.

The two were silent for a moment, for a split second it had sent him back to that moment he gifted one to Katsuki. Even though years later he learned the blond had kept it, it didn't stop that hurt feeling he initially had when he just blew up the box and threw it away. Making his efforts seem worthless.

"I-If you guys don't-"

"Deku this is amazing!" Ochako said loudly, a blush on her face as she put the charm around her neck. "How long did it take you to make this?" She asked.

"This is such a nice gift Izuku, and it's based off yours? Where did you get the idea for this?" Tenya was trying to to decide whether to wrap it around his wrist or wear it as a necklace like the other two.

Izuku let himself gape for a moment before shaking himself out of his stupor. Relief filling him. He couldn't help his joy that they hadn't rejected them.

He beamed as he started to tell them. "Well, you see. Somewhere out there, there's a tree with star shaped fruit."

 **-LotF-**

Tensei sighed to himself as he stared out the window of the train.

It had taken him a day or two, but he was finally able to get off the days he needed. They wanted him down in Hosu, but he insisted that he had to tend to personal affairs first.

And his personal life was indeed more important.

He hears a light growl from one of the pet carriers beside him and he stays quiet, Bubbles wasn't initially happy with being on the train. Far from it, he was doing his signature cross between growl and snarl Aqua somehow found endearing. But over time he started to calm down, save for the moments when the bored kid on the train ran by.

Hund was fast asleep, taking the change of scenery in a much happier way than her friend.

Tensei mumbled to himself as he read through another article on the USJ attack. The media was relentless, they were obviously trying to milk the incident for everything it was worth.

There was a picture of one of the heroes there, that one being Aqua. Her armor had broken revealing the black suit she wore underneath and her face. She looked exhausted, and a little worse for wear. Her long hair out of place and no longer in the bun she kept it in.

He sighed and closed out the article, leaning back to think.

He and Aqua did have a fight, looking back it felt a bit petty. On both ends.

He had gone too far with what he said, and she had gone too far herself. They both had taken jabs at each other, and looking back now it was far from the best thing to do. She had a reason to be scared of those things, to worry. But he also had a reason to be upset with her refusing to tell him anything. Her refusal of answers whenever he asked about her past, about the sad look she would have sometimes. Insisting she was fine when she would be on her last legs. As if she acted she had to carry the world on her shoulders.

It had just felt a bit insulting when she had said 'Have you even considered for a moment that I'm trying to keep you safe?'

Yes, keeping him safe by pushing him away and making him worry. By diving head first into those battles and taking the brunt of damage whenever she could. As if he couldn't take care of himself against those things. Acting as if he was helpless.

He groaned to himself and shook his head as he decided to stare out the window. He could see the familiar landscape of the city he used to call home approaching.

" _Alright, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna do it." He hyped himself up, fixing up his hair while looking in the mirror. Hizashi was off to the rummaging through his bag before 'yeeting' a breath mint at him. Merely pinging it off of him._

" _You act like you ask it's the end of the world." Shouta muttered. The third year of UA had not been treating him particularly well._

" _I mean, it might be." Tensei said._

" _Don't be like that my dude, you've got this in the bag." Hizashi offered words of confidence before actually handing a mint to his slightly distressed friend._

" _And if I don't?"_

" _Uuuuhhh…"_

 _Shouta grumbled something before grabbing Tensei by his jacket and hauling him all the way to the classroom before kicking him in. "Just do it." He growled._

 _Tensei stumbled into the mostly empty classroom. There were a few people staying behind to discuss either projects with one another or their own training regiments. The others had started to head home._

 _There she was, in her desk talking with Nemuri who sat on the desk in front of Aqua's._

 _He could hear Shouta muttering something to Hizashi._

" _What cheesy pick up line did you give him to use?" He raised an eyebrow._

" _Wait and see."_

 _Oh this was going to end so badly. So, so badly._

 _He could barely walk in a straight line as he made his way over to Aqua. Hesitating for a minute before leaning over and clearing his throat. Getting their attention. "Hey." He started._

 _When she looked at him his mind went blank. He totally forgot what he was supposed to say as his face went bright red. "U-Uh…"_

" _Out. Me. You. D-Date?" He stuttered out._

 _He didn't even wait around to see the surprised expression as he dashed out of the classroom, leaving the young woman a blushing mess._

 _He ended up hiding over by the dumpsters, feeling like he was going to spontaneously combust._

" _I can't believe myself. What was that? Oh my god." He had been pacing for a while, until he plopped right down next to one of the trash cans off to the side._

" _Ugh…I'm garbage at this..." He buried his face in his hands, unsure how long he had been like that until he heard footsteps walking towards him._

 _He peeked between his fingers to see a red faced Aqua biting at her lip as she fiddled with her hands. "U-Uhm...since you're garbage…" She muttered, looking off to the side before continuing. "H-How about I pick you up at 6?"_

 _The two were silent before bursting out into a fit of laughter._

He sighed as he looked up at the Midoriya household. He had gotten there a bit late, the sun was starting to set. He stood at the front door, sighing as Bubbles was starting to get restless alongside with Hund.

He lifted up a hand, about to knock on the door when he heard someone just a bit behind him.

"Tensei?"

He turned around to see a confused looking Izuku. "Oh, hey bud. Just getting back from school?" He asked.

Izuku nodded and walking over, pulling out his house keys. "Yeah, finally able to go back to school." He hummed, unlocking the door for Tensei. "I take it...you're uh, here for Aqua?" He asked.

Tensei nodded. "Yeah, is she back yet? Or is she still in the hospital?"

"Still in the hospital." He murmured. "Sitting with Shouchan or…" Izuku let out a shudder before heading inside and announcing his and Tensei's presence.

Tensei watched him with a confused expression before stepping inside. Being greeted by Inko.

"Hello Tensei." She smiled. "Glad to see you're here."

He nodded before gently setting down the pet carriers. Izuku had already taken his suitcase to presumably Aqua's room.

"Is it alright if I let out Bubbles and Hund?" He asked. "They're house trained."

"Oh of course." She kneeled down to unlock one of the carriers.

"I advise you be careful around Bubbles, he can be kind...of…" Tensei watched Inko take him out of the carrier and hold him. He let out a happy growl at being held, his tail wagging.

"Oh come on Bubbles!" Tensei said loudly as Hund darted from her carrier and look around the house. Bubbles had given the man a snarl in response.

He sighed and walked over, watching Inko stifle her laughter as he leaned towards the dog. "You better be good while I go get your mother."

The dog groaned before barking at him, trying to snap at him.

"I'll go put him outside." Inko said, turning away. Bubbles twisted himself to keep barking at the man before he was set free outside and went running around the new, more open space. Hund did nothing but stalk around the new space she'd be calling home for a bit. She had already taken a liking to the youngest Midoriya.

"Let me know if they cause any trouble." Tensei sighed as he was about to turn around and run over.

"You want me to drive you over?" Inko asked. "It wouldn't be a problem." She insisted.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Of course." She nodded. "Izuku, think you can finish up dinner?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, of course."

 **-SotP-**

"You probably look exhausted." A tired voice chastised her. He sounded tired himself, barely able to stay awake.

"Hmph." He only got a grunt in return from the young woman. Whenever she had gotten the smallest bit of energy she made sure to use it to try and speed up Shouta's healing.

She had spent the previous night in the unconscious villain's room, fretting over him and talking to him, no one really heard what she was saying. She kept her voice low. Despite him having yet to wake.

The officers outside knew better than to pry, there was clearly some kind of history. And it wasn't their job to find out. Yet.

"You eat at all?" Shouta muttered as he stared blankly at the ceiling. Or at least he would if it weren't for the bandages around his eyes. He was almost clear for discharge, but kept in just in case.

"Had a plate of fruit a while ago…" Aqua answered quietly.

"While ago? Meaning?"

"Can't quite remember." She shrugged, keeping her head down on the somewhat soft bed.

"I'm gonna kick your ass once were outta here...and after you explain who the hell that guy is." He grumbled.

"Later." She muttered.

"Blue."

She grabbed the spare pillow she would carry around and lightly hit him with it. "Later you grumpy mummy."

The man let out another before settling down into the quiet again. Listening to the steady beeping, an almost soothing rhythm.

The two started to drift off to sleep when there was the sound of the door opening.

The two let out an annoyed groan as the door was closed. They assumed the doctor or nurse who had opened the door had gotten the hint and left.

They realized they were wrong when the footsteps approached them.

Aqua had lightly jumped when she felt a hand rest itself atop her head before running brought her messy hair. Trailing down to the ends and lightly twirling them in their fingers before detangling themselves and coming back up to brush against her cheek.

She opened an eye and lightly gasped at who it was.

"Hey." His warm voice greeted her as he kneeled down to eye level. "Come on, let's go home." Tensei murmured softly.

Aqua watched him for a moment before biting her lip. Then giving a tired smile.

"Which home?" She laughed.

"Get out of my room." Shouta growled.

 **-.-**

The three had come home, thinking dinner would have been served by then. Only to see that dinner _was_ indeed done, but still in the pot.

They found Izuku hanging onto his bedroom door for dear life. Feet on the door handles and hands gripping the top. Beneath him was Bubbles, angrily barking and trying to nip at him.

When he saw Tensei and his sister he shouted at them. "Your dog is a menace!"

"Why did you let him in?" Tensei asked, grinning as he watched Izuku try to shuffle further up the door.

"He was sitting by the door and he looked sad. I now realize that this was a mistake! He chased me all over the place!"

"And you resorted to climbing on a door?" Inko asked.

"He can jump on the couches!"

Aqua let out a small laugh before kneeling down and opening her arms. "Bubbles! Come here!" She called.

The dog's head snapped towards her before letting out what sounded like a howl, before skittering over to her. Falling over a couple of times.

Aqua picked him up as he licked her face.

"Aw, you miss me?" She asked, giggling.

"He did." Tensei confirmed. "He tried to bite off my ankles while you were gone."

"You should know by now that wearing socks is a needed precaution." She pat the dog's head.

"I should be able to walk around the apartment as I please. Barefoot or not!" He argued.

Aqua laughed as Izuku got down and darted to the kitchen.

With a long sigh she realized, she was home. She was okay, they all made it out alive.

But she still had plenty of work to do, and all this was probably just the beginning of something much, much worse.

But she knew she had to start somewhere, and where better to start than with Izuku?

 **-LotF-**

"Ah, Miss Midoriya. Are you feeling well enough to begin teaching again? I can assure you a few of our students have already begun to miss your presence." Nedzu hummed as he poured a cup of tea for both Aqua and himself.

"Actually, my teaching position is one of the things I want to address." She said, taking a sip.

Okay, so starting with Izuku was _a lot_ harder than she had thought it was going to be. He would dart away at the sight of her, locking himself in his room or insisting he had something to do elsewhere.

Until she could properly corner him (hunt him down) she had to deal with a few other things on the list of her's. She also she figured she ha dog get out and do something after spending a few days recovering from her own slump.

"Oh, is that so? May I know what it is exactly you would like to address about it?" He added a bit of cream to his own beverage.

"Of course." She nodded, placing the cup down before leaning forward. "You know, I feel a bit ashamed of myself that I hadn't done it earlier. Read through the student's quirks." She said, staring at her hand.

Nedzu only raised an eyebrow.

"I realized only then, how much some of the students were at a disadvantage. Momo Yaoyorozu, for example. Her Quirk is amazing indeed, she can create things on the spot as long as she knows the makeup and has enough fat cells. It may be useful for making weapons on the spot, but how useful is a blade if you don't know how to wield it?" She asked.

Nedzu was smiling by now.

"Denki Kaminari. An amazing electricity Quirk, but counterproductive if he short circuits himself. Electricity is a useful tool, especially if used correctly to avoid harming oneself. Shouto Todoroki, powerful dual quirk, but what good is it if you can only use one side?"

"What exactly are you proposing?" Nedzu asked, folding his paws.

"I will stay here, and teach alongside All Might in the hero course. But in our exercises I will be taking aside certain students and working with them. Not only them though, but students from other classes as well. Class 1-B, and perhaps a few from the General Studies, those who failed to get into the hero course." She explained.

"Not everybody is blessed with a Quirk suitable for combat against robots." She said. "And we shouldn't be brushing them aside."

Yes the Entrance Exam was usually deemed unfair by many, requiring combat Quirks more often than not in order to pass. She was one of those who noticed it. But now maybe she could do something to change it.

Nedzu took a moment to take a long sip of his tea before setting it down and smiling. "My my, quite the ambition you have Miss Midoriya. I do approve of your proposal, consider it green lit. But though I must ask, do you want something in return?" There was a glint in his eye.

Aqua knew he would ask, and indeed she did. Best to go over all the options she had to before she ran out.

"Yes." She said simply, shifting in her seat for a moment to lean back.

"And what exactly is it you want?" He asked.

She took a deep breath.

"I'm sure you're aware of the...villain, that was apprehended at USJ." She started.

"Which villain? I can assure you quite a bit were taken into custody."

"The one I took down. The one currently lying in the hospital that has yet to wake." She kept her voice even. Everyday, she stopped by for just a bit to sit with Terra. She had yet to tell anyone who he was, but she figured Inko had already figured it out.

"Ah yes, him. The one that nearly killed your brother. And worked with villains who could have killed your students." He set aside his empty glass, rising from his seat and walking over to the window. Looking over the school grounds.

"Nedzu I can promise you he is _far_ from a villain. But because of...of what happened he was like that. But I got him out of there, I helped him." Her hands curled into fists.

Nedzu took notice of the slight drop in temperature.

"You seem very passionate about him. I take it you have a history with him?" He asked. "May I inquire about it?"

Aqua nearly short circuited. "I don't quite feel comfortable answering certain questions. Not until he wakes up."

Nedzu was silent for a moment. "What exactly is it you want?" He asked.

"I want UA to take custody of him if I'm unable to. Try to keep him out of prison. He'll be surrounded by heroes, and if anything he'll still be suffering from his injuries to do anything harmful to anyone. And I promise that he would never willingly hurt anyone. If you'd like while I'm here I will keep him at my side at all times."

"And if-"

"All times." She repeated.

Nedzu let out a long sigh, before turning to her.

"How about I add another small bargain on top of our current one?" He asked.

Aqua hesitantly nodded.

"If you are unable to gain custody of the villain, then I will do everything in my power to have UA do so. Which I'm sure that can be done with ease if the right people are contacted. And if we have custody of him, then I will require you to answer any questions I, or your friends ask. Of him, yourself, and any other subject we may come up with."

She drew in a breath.

"You have quite the complicated past, Guardian." He stated, walking back over to his desk. "I believe it may be time to start unraveling it. So how about it?"

"Me teaching students much more effective fighting techniques, for you taking custody of my friend if I'm unable to. And in turn of that you get to ask me anything you please with a promised answer? It almost sounds like you're getting the better part of the deal here."

"Take it or leave it." Nedzu smiled, already knowing her answer. She wasn't going to gamble on someone she seemed so important.

She was quiet for a moment, thinking it over. Biting at her lip and staring off into space, her thoughts racing. After a bit she sighed and nodded, holding out a hand.

"It sounds like a deal."

 **-SotP-**

Aqua let out a tired groan as she let herself in, smiling at the smell of take out. From her favorite place.

"About time you got home." Tensei said as he walked up to her, a small container of fries in hand.

She took a fry, popping it into her mouth before leaning against his chest.

"Mmm, I knew you still loved me."

"I never said I didn't." He hummed. "How you feeling? Injuries irritating you?" He asked.

"I'm good." She stayed in place. "Just kind of tired."

"I told you to stay home." He lightly scolded.

"I told you I had to get some stuff done." She argued back. "And I got it done, but it looks like I'll be coming home even more tired than usual. I changed a few things of my teaching career." She said.

"Oh? More tired than usual, how so?"

"Your brother can tell you next time we do training."

"Oh come on." He said, lightly pushing her off and giving her another fry. Then letting her fall back on him. "Tell me."

"I'm giving a more well rounded education for your information." She said.

"Uh huh."

"You'll see." She smiled.

"Oh will I?" He asked.

"Yes, yes you will." She hummed.

"And how has your day been Tenya?" Inko asked from the other room, sitting across from the boy.

"I've been well, our training has intensified though. Not only at school, but I've been pushing myself as well. Especially since the Sports Festival is coming up in a few weeks."

"Yeah, I've been doing the same." Izuku smiled. "I wanna do my best out there. Hopefully I'll be able to gain some more control over my Quirk in that time." He looked down at his hands.

He would think back to that moment, where he grabbed the Keyblade that had been knocked out of the fight as well. That immense power that seemed to tune in with One For All.

He wondered again and again, how his body didn't break with that power. He had only been knocked down when that monster managed to get a hold on him.

The one with the piercing yellow eyes that stared him down as if he was just prey. Which he might as well have been. The thought of that creature made him shudder in fear. That thing haunted his dreams, how close he came to death by that thing's hands. In his worst dreams that thing would take the final blow and he'd be falling through that dark place again. Except this time he was alone, no whispers of that figure.

Then there was the light above him that seemed brighter, and the faint glimmer he'd catch down below him. Something shining through the darkness.

"I'm sure you will." Tenya assured him, snapping him from his thoughts. "You're dedicated, and you most certainly have the determination to take that step forward."

He absentmindedly nodded. "Yeah…" He sighed, taking a bite of his food.

They were quiet for a bit, and the two teenagers only spoke again once Inko excused herself from the table to take a call from a friend.

"Is Aqua still visiting the hospital for that villain?" Tenya asked quietly.

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, she is. I don't really get what's so...important about him. I mean, yeah he was a Quirk like hers, but the way she talks about him…"

"She makes him sound like a friend?"

"Yes! I-I don't get it. Why is he so important? Why, after what he did…"

"Perhaps she knows something we don't?"

"I dunno. I still feel uneasy just thinking about him, and that monster." Izuku admitted.

Tenya was silent for a moment before putting a hand on his shoulder. "Well, he's not around. There's that, so he doesn't pose a threat. Not to mention, if he were to start causing chaos I'm sure Aqua could handle him with ease. She was able to take him down once, I have no doubt she could do it again."

Izuku thought back to that moment, where he had regained consciousness to see his sister crying over that man. Granted he looked different, but still.

With how she acted around him, would she be able to fight him again?

He sighed and leaned back. "Yeah, I guess."

 **-LotF-**

He woke up with a groan, he was in pain. And as much as he would have liked to keep resting, something told him, not yet. He couldn't rest quite yet.

He sat up, and he tried to reach up to rub the sleep from his eyes. He was unable to though, realizing his hands were bound to something.

His eyes widened, and he looked down to see his hands cuffed to the railing of the bed he was resting in. He pulled at them a bit, only to get back a bit of pain from his wrists.

"What the…" He coughed, his throat was dry.

"Oh, oh he's awake!" He heard a rather loud whisper from outside the door of the room. He looked out to see two men talking to each other and one of them was tapping away at something.

He was about to say something when he noticed another figure shifting in a chair not too far away.

"Man, about time you woke up." He said, yawning and stretching. "Man, Blue owes me big time for this." He sighed.

He had long blond hair, half of it was in a bun, and the other stayed down. He wore glasses that had green eyes behind them.

Terra frowned to himself and watched the man. How did he get here? How long had he been here? Where was Aqua?

In all honesty, he would have been more than happy to summon his Keyblade and free himself. But he couldn't, something felt wrong.

"Who are you?" Terra asked, thinking about what he said. Blue? Was he referring to Aqua?

"Pro Hero, Present Mic." He answered, crossing his arms. He looked like this place was the last place he wanted to be.

A Pro Hero? What on earth does that mean? How is a hero professional? Isn't a hero, just a hero?

From the way things were looking, it was best to play along. At least try to make a friend out of this until he could find Aqua.

"My name is Terra." He said back. "Would you mind telling me why I'm bound to the bed?" He asked.

Mic seemed to bristle at the question. "You're a villain. Last time you were conscious you nearly killed two people." He tapped his finger against the chair.

Terra blanched at that. He tried to think back, but at the moment it was in pieces. He couldn't quite connect them, but one thing he could grasp a glimpse of was a scared face, a boy fighting desperately against him. Giving it his all.

"Don't remember?" Mic raised an eyebrow.

Terra shook his head. "It's in bits and pieces…" he muttered, looking from side to side. "Where's Aqua?" He asked.

"She's busy." Mic answered.

"Doing?"

"None of your business."

Terra frowned. "She's my friend, I should be able to see her."

"You're a villain, you don't exactly get to make demands here buddy."

He sighed and shook his head. Okay, so getting any help from this seemed a bit impossible at the moment.

"But." Mic started up again. "Since I'm technically here as a favor for a friend who _asked_ me to let her know when you woke up for some reason. I suppose I can get her to come here." He pulled out a rectangular device.

He was quiet for a moment as the hero put the device to his ear. A ringing noise coming from it.

"Thank you." Terra said after a minute.

Mic held up a finger as the call connected.

"Hey Blue! Oh, Tensei! Hey buddy how ya doing?" He started talking, but it sounded one sided.

"Yeah, he's good but the old lady is kind of mad at him. I don't blame her, I would have stopped him but I like living thank you." He huffed.

"You like to forget he dangled me off a roof once."

"They were rose bushes!"

Terra was more than confused.

Mic sighed after a moment and shook his head. "Well listen, is Blue there? I need to tell her something."

He was quiet for a moment until he seemed to hear someone else.

"Blue! Hey, you told me to call you when he woke up." He said. "Yeah, he's awake. And he's looking at me as if I've grown two heads. Honestly Blue I don't get the big deal with this guy. No I'm not putting him on the phone! Besides his hands are cuffed."

"Fine." He said after a bit. He pressed a button and sat back down, looking at Terra.

"Is she…"

"She's coming." Mic huffed.

Terra sighed in relief, she was coming. She could probably sort all this out right? Maybe she could also get this Present Mic guy to not be as angry at him too. He seemed to be a friend of hers.

"...How long have I been gone?" Terra asked after a bit. hoping for some kind of answer.

"You've been out for week or two."

Terra gave him a look. That didn't sound right, that sounded _far_ from accurate. It couldn't have been that little time, especially going on how Aqua looked.

It surely had to have been years.

"I didn't mean...never mind." He sighed, once again testing how far he could stretch with the cuffs. Not very far.

The two sat in very tense silence for a while, shooting glances at one another.

"Mind if I ask how you know Aqua?" Terra looked at him.

"She's my friend. And I won't lie, she, and the law, are the only things keeping me from sending you through that wall right now. I don't know if you haven't caught on yet buddy but I'm not a big fan of yours. Regardless of you knowing Blue. From what I've been told you nearly killed her and her brother." Mic surprisingly kept his voice level. "You helped hurt one of my closest friends too, if it weren't for you maybe he wouldn't have been half dead by the time he got here!"

 _Brother? Aqua has a brother?_

"Not to mention, this whole aftermath you've been one of the main stressors for her. And I don't know what history you two have, but it seems to only be negative considering the impact on her. So forgive me if I'm not very friendly towards you, but as far as I'm concerned you're still a villain." The man had been standing from his chair, voice rising a bit.

"So do not act all friendly with me, you don't get to do that. Do I make myself clear?" He asked.

Terra started at him, lips drawn into a thin line.

What had happened? What had he done? No, Xehanort, what had Xehanort done? But wasn't _he_ Xehanort then?

He looked down, away from the man. "I messed up."

"Yeah, no-"

"Terra?"

The two looked up to the familiar voice of their friend.

Aqua stood at the entrance, the two guards watching her wearily. She was panting, as if she had sprinted the entire way there.

After a moment she beamed and ran over, passing Hizashi and throwing herself into the constricted arms of her formerly lost friend.

"You're awake…you're awake!" She cried.

"Yeah, I am." He hugged her as best he could.

Hizashi just looked shocked at the scene.

He didn't get to question it as another person came into the room, much to the chagrin of the guards. He was panting too, probably from chasing after Aqua who no doubt ran over like a madwoman.

"Aqua!" Tensei said, catching his breath eyes widening at the scene of _his_ girlfriend at the side of another man who she seemed a bit too attached to at the moment. A bit too giddy, happy.

"Who the hell is this?!"

 **-SotP-**

 **Alrighty, so I am very sorry if this feels a bit rushed, because I really was in a hurry. I wanted to get this done before I have to turn in my school computer, where I do a lot of my writing since I'm at school a majority of my time.**

 **This is just kind of part 1 of 2 of the aftermath. I wanted to focus a bit more on Aqua and Tensei in this one. And next chapter I am planning on looking more at Izuku's confrontations.**

 **So yeah. Uh, if any of you maybe wanna talk or discuss anything I have a Tumblr at silverbit.**

 **Have a great day/night everybody. Hope y'all are stress free!**


	13. Confrontations and Interrogations

**Confrontations and Interrogations**

"Tensei wait." Aqua got up and watched him walk away. She looked at Terra for a moment before grimacing and running after him.

Tensei was speed walking through the hospital floor, quickly heading over to the elevator to ride down.

She quickly caught up with him, keeping pace as they both entered. The passengers that arrived on the floor got the message when they saw the two barely keeping their voices low but clearly upset.

Once they got in they merely stared at each other in silence. One daring the other to speak first.

It was Tensei to break the silence first.

"How long?" He asked.

"Excuse me?" Aqua looked at him.

"How long have you been fraternizing with that villain? Behind my back!"

"What are you talking about?" She asked. "I'm not-Tensei!" The elevator opened and they both walk out. Both somewhat seething in a way.

"Then what the hell was that?" He asked, heading towards the entrance. People cleared from their path.

"That was me, being happy to see a good friend after so long!" She defended.

"Oh yeah, a good friend. How long is 'so long?'" He questioned.

"Years Tensei. I haven't seen him in years!"

"Am I supposed to believe that?"

She scowled and ran in front of him stopping him in his tracks as he looked down at her.

"Don't you _dare_ assume you know the whole story. Don't you dare do that!" She stepped forward. "You do not get to make your judgments until you have the full story!"

"I think I already have it Aqua. For an unknown amount of time, you've been cheating on me. With a villain no less! You take down the villain who nearly _killed_ you! And you still wanna be with him? Sure looks like it after what I saw!"

"That is _far_ from the truth Tensei!" She shouted. "If you just let me-Hey! Where do you think you're going?" She asked as he walked past her.

"I'm going home." He said. "I am too angry to talk to you about this right now."

"So you're not even going to listen."

"No! Because I cannot trust you, I don't think I can really rely on you at the moment. Look at who you were with!"

"He is my friend!"

"You say that, but do you really mean it?" He asked.

Aqua gave him a look of hurt before scowling and turning her head away. Ice traveled up her arms as she took a deep breath at the moment.

"Get your things out of my room. You can either sleep on the couch or go to your own house until you get over yourself." She said, still looking away.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

There was silence between the two before Tensei turned around and walked away. "Fine."

Aqua watched him walk down the street until she turned around herself and started walking. In her anger, she nearly froze over an alley. She left a trail of ice as she walked back to the hospital.

She had said nothing when she got back to Terra's room. Hizashi was still in there, looking terribly confused. Terra has been allowed one free hand, but a specialized cuff was still clamped onto his wrist. Something about canceling a Quirk.

The moment she walked in, the room got even colder than it usually was.

Hizashi instantly got the message and scooted away from the other chair in the room, watching her sit in it.

Just as Terra opening his mouth to greet her and ask her what happened the blonde motioned at him and shook his head quickly. Prompting him to keep quiet.

After a bit Hizashi gathered up the courage to hand her something. It was simple, just a small pen he forgot was in his pocket.

She took it, and the moment she touched it, it had begun to freeze over.

Terra watch in a mixture of fear and awe as her grip tightened just a bit and suddenly the item was covered in ice. There was a bit of crackling in her hand before she quickly closed her fist around the thing and it shattered.

The piece fell to the ground and she let loose a long sigh.

"You good Blue?" Hizashi asked quietly.

"Better."

"I think I'm gonna stay here, juuuust to make sure you don't kill anyone." He said.

"Alright." She muttered, standing up. After a moment the temperature of the room seemed to normalize. She looked at Terra. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Uh, I'm good. What about you? You seem a bit…"

"Don't worry about it, Terra." She said simply.

He nodded before looking around again. He let out a long sigh before looking at her again. "You look different." He commented.

"It's been a while." She murmured sadly.

"Aqua, how long have I been gone?" He asked, a bit of fear bubbling up. How long had he been that person? That monster?

Mic looked at him with a bit of irritation. He said a week or two. Did he not believe him?

"It's been 10 years Terra."

 **-LotF-**

All Might's day could have gone better, a lot better. But it just happened to one of _those_ days.

He woke up spitting up blood, distressed by a nightmare that never seemed to leave him. One that continued to evolve with every battle he seemed to fight. A new villain, a new weapon for his mind to use against him whilst dreaming.

The one that had been recurring as of late was that man. How close he came to ending Young Midoriya's life. How he had gotten there just in time to save him. It had been a real strain on him to even stun the Nomu long enough to grab it and throw it, then to rush over and land that blow on the villain.

From afar he had seen the boy clash with the white-haired man before being grabbed by the dark creature that hovered over him and beating him down. He had seen how he wielded Guardian's blade, able to exchange blows and get in that hit whenever he could.

What really caught his eye though, was the use of elements just like his sister. He had seen flames trailing after the winds created by the punch he landed. The ice that had begun to coat the creature's arm.

He wanted to talk to Young Midoriya about that, but he wanted him to heal first. Have a bit of time to relax before he would surely put the boy in distress. But he had to do it sooner or later.

The thought of that confrontation took over at least half of his thoughts in the morning as he readied for the day. He had a long day, working on grading papers and training the students. He had actually been able to spar with the boy, giving him a few pointers.

He had actually been a bit eager to take Izuku under his watch for the day. He was able to sense a bit of tension between him and his sister; who seemed to be a mixture of tired and angry. Him being the good mentor he was trying to be, insisted on training the boy. Calling him over when Guardian was listing names of the students she wanted to train with. Though as soon as that class period ended she had left for the day.

Just when he had been ready to return home with some time, maybe enough time to go to the beach and talk to his successor; he got a call from his old friend. Naomasa.

"Toshinori." He was greeted, there was the sound of a door closing.

"Ah, Naomasa. How are you?" The withered man asked, getting into his truck. He started the vehicle before waiting, just wanting the old beaten up truck to cool down a bit.

"It's fine, still looking into that attack. We actually just found out that the villain Guardian had taken down finally regained consciousness." He sighed.

He tensed a bit.

"Yeah? How's that going?" He asked, tapping a finger against the wheel.

"Well, we're finally getting him into the station to be interrogated. We're kind of in a tight spot since Guardian is trying to gain custody of the guy, but right behind her is UA."

"What!" He raised his voice, getting a few looks from confused students passing by the vehicle.

"Yeah. We need a few accounts about this guy. Word from Guardian is that we're in a spot of misunderstanding. I already took her in to get her statement, but I think it might fare a bit better with accounts from others who faced off against him." He sounded tired.

All Might gripped the wheel tightly, glaring straight ahead.

"I take it you'd want me to contact Young Midoriya as well?" He asked.

"Would you mind? I don't think we passed that message along to his sister." He sighed.

"Of course I can. How about you get yourself a cup of coffee. You sound exhausted."

"I would if I could. But we're actually bringing that guy in right now. So yeah."

"What was it you told me again? Pace yourself old friend."

"Oh ha ha." Naomasa laughed. "I said that because _you're_ getting old."

The two shared a small chuckle before settling down.

"Alright, time to get back to work. I'll see you later Toshi."

"See you later." He smiled, hanging up before letting out a sigh.

Why was UA trying to get custody of that man? UA of all entities? Wouldn't he be fine in prison? No, Tartarus?

As far as he was concerned the villain could be locked away from the rest of the world and deemed no longer a threat. UA may be full of capable heroes, but he would _never_ want that risk to be taken. Even if Guardian was there.

She had barely won that fight, granted she had been taking on a horde of strange creatures and a second villain, but still. She wanted to take custody, there was a reason. As much as he'd like to assume she's neutral, he had seen her sitting at his bedside while visiting Shouta one day.

There was a reason, and as much as he'd liked to trust her judgment he wasn't sure of it. She was Young Midoriya's sister, she lives in the same house as his young pupil. And he did _not_ want that man anywhere near his boy. Regardless of being deemed harmless or not under her care.

He growled at the thought, hands gripping the wheel tightly.

In that case, then UA had to gain custody over him. He'd be surrounded by Pros, he would most likely be restricted to certain areas. If anything, he would gladly spend the time of day in his muscle form just to make sure he didn't try anything. He'd _want_ him to try something, anything. But this time he'd be dealing with All Might, one on one with plenty of time to spare.

He let loose a long sigh, letting his grip loosen. He leaned back and shook his head.

He let himself unwind before picking up his phone again and calling Izuku. One ring, two, three.

"Hello?"

"Young Midoriya." He greeted.

"Oh, hey All Might." The boy said he was panting. He was using one of the gyms if he had to guess. He would have to talk to him about resting more often, again. He had been there since the start of the week.

"Where are you?" He asked.

"The gym." He said, pausing after a moment. "Why?"

"I just got a call from an old friend of mine. I'm not sure if you're aware, but that villain from USJ; the one that you had gone against. He's...well it might be better if I tell you in person. I have to head to the station, and they're going to want your side of the story young man."

"H-Huh? Why?"

"I'll explain it when we're face to face. Would you want me to give you a ride to the station? "

"If they want me there...then I guess. Where are you?" He asked.

"In the parking lot." All Might answered.

"You never even left the school?" Izuku said, a bit of mirth in his voice.

"Neither did you Young Midoriya." All Might lightly chided.

"Fair enough." He laughed.

 **-SotP-**

If he had to be honest, there were a number of things he'd rather be doing other than being carted around. Hands cuffed to restrain his movement as if he was a villain.

Oh, wait.

Aqua had explained his situation, trying to keep it simple until everything could get sorted out.

Worst case scenario, he ended up in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Best case scenario, Aqua got custody of him and he was considered to be on probation. A middle scenario? Some place called UA would take him in.

Honestly, he was hoping for the best case scenario in this situation.

Especially given how everyone shot glares in his direction. How they talked down to him, how they freely talked about him despite Terra being _right there_.

At the moment they were taking him down to a station to interrogate him. Aqua had told him time and time again that he absolutely _had_ to tell the truth. There was no point in lying. There they'd probably have someone with a lie detecting Quirk in the room with him.

And then he had to ask what a Quirk was.

Perhaps in another life, one where that old man who has effectively ruined his life thus far didn't exist, he'd enjoy spending time in this world. It was vibrant, lively, and so massive. There were surely places begging to be explored, something he'd probably never tire of.

But so far, he'd rather be back in the Land of Departure sparring with Aqua or Ven.

Oh god Ven.

Aqua hadn't been able to fill him in on everything. Just how long it's been, a few details of the world, and a few warnings. He had no idea where Ventus was, or how he was.

Surely he was fine though right? If Aqua wasn't actively panicking about him then he had to be okay right?

At this moment he could only hope.

"Pay attention!" He was yelled at as the vehicle was brought to a stop. He was feeling a bit sick. But he wasn't sure if it was because of the car ride or his anxiety.

Until further notice, he decided to chalk it up to both.

He was pulled out and walked into the building. The only time something was said to him it was to either bark an order or saying that he'd better behave himself.

He honestly had no reason to 'misbehave' he knew he was in a tight spot. And acting out, or saying anything would be dangerous to him. At least that was how Aqua described it.

He said nothing as they led him into a room and cuffed him to a table. Telling him that someone will be in there soon enough to talk to him.

That was fine, he just had to deal with this. Get through this, hopefully, get out of this, get back to Aqua, then they could find Ven. No problem right?

He jumped as he heard the door open loudly, being pulled from, his thoughts. He looked behind himself to see a man in a tan overcoat walking inside, one security guard accompanying him.

The man in the trenchcoat sat down in front of him and sighed, taking off his hat and looking to the young man. While the guard stood off to the side of the room, keeping a close on him Terra.

"My name is Detective Naomasa, I'm sure you know why you're here?" He asked, watching him.

"You're here to interrogate me," Terra answered.

The detective nodded and sighed. He placed something on the desk and pressed a button. "Let's try to get through this as quickly as possible hm?"

"Please." Terra sighed.

"Alright. Would you mind stating your name?"

"Terra." He said simply, tapping his finger on the table lightly.

Naomasa waited before raising an eyebrow. "Terra what?"

"Huh?"

"What's your last name?" Naomasa asked.

"A last name...I don't…" He shook his head.

The man gave him a look. "You have no last name?"

"No, where I'm from we don't use last names. We don't really have any." He rubbed the back of his head.

The detective let out a long sigh, taking down a quick note. "Alright then, Terra. About 2 weeks ago you were defeated and apprehended at USJ on the campus of UA. You were an accomplice with other villains who had launched the attack specifically to take out All Might. You aided in that attack, going after specifically Pro hero Guardian and her younger brother, Izuku Midoriya. Do you have anything to say to this?"

Terra stared at him in confusion, trying to process what he just said. "Wait...hold on." He held a hand out.

"You, and that other guy. That Present Mic guy, you keep saying that I did it but…" He shook his head. "I didn't. I don't remember doing any of that." He tried to think back, only getting back bits and pieces. They felt too scattered to make anything of it.

Naomasa narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean, you don't remember doing any of that?" He asked.

"I don't remember," Terra stated again. "I have bits and pieces, but not the whole picture."

Naomasa stared at him. "You mind elaborating on that?"

Terra looked down, biting his lip. He couldn't lie, there was no space to.

"I," he put a hand on his chest. "I have bits and pieces of the fight, but not until the last parts of it. I only remember so much. I remember the face of a boy, he was fighting against me. I had a single moment of clarity, like one moment I had control and I was able to stop myself from landing a blow. It was like a breath of fresh air, I was barely able to register what had happened before I was forced into a dark place again, and I lost control. I felt myself slam him into the ground, and I couldn't stop it, even as I tried to get back again…I remember Aqua trying to reach me…"

The detective watched him, looking over his face.

"During the fight, it was reported that at the time you had white hair and yellow eyes. Accompanied by a dark shadow that obeyed your commands." He didn't miss the grimace that crossed his features. "There are two things I'd like to address about this. Your obvious color change," he gestured to him. "And, well that shadow."

"From the statement you've given, it sounds like you were looking in from the shadow's view. Based off of Guardian's statement, from what she had seen it was that creature that had landed those blows."

"I had no choice. I wasn't strong enough." He looked down as he shook his head.

Naomasa frowned. "Now, initially most would think that the white hair and yellow eyes were a product of you activating your Quirk. If you're saying you were the shadow, then you mind telling me who was the one in your body?"

Terra stared at him before looking to the side and biting the inside of his cheek. How much should he say? How much _could_ he say? Assuming Aqua hasn't spilled the beans about there being other worlds...what details would he be able to leave out?

Naomasa sighed at his silence. "Terra, it's best if you give us the whole picture. There's no sense in trying to hide or save your accomplice-"

"He is not my accomplice!" Terra suddenly shouted. Startling the other two in the room. The guard and reached for the weapon at his belt.

After a moment he sighed. "He's not my accomplice if anything...he was my nightmare."

The detective and the guard looked at each other.

Terra already sensed the request. 'Elaborate'.

"I messed up. I messed up real bad. I trusted someone, who I thought had the best intentions. I let myself be manipulated, and I hurt people when I thought I had been helping them. And in the end, everyone paid for my mistake." He looked down, regret etched into his face.

"How so, if you mind me asking?" The detective asked.

"I-I...our master was struck down, one of my best friends is missing...but if anything Aqua paid the most." He shook his head. "She tried to save me once before, but I wasn't able to reach her when she reached out. Neither of us were strong enough back then. After that event, everything had gone dark for me, like I was lost in an endless sea of black."

"10 years?" He asked. "You seem young, maybe about 21 years old. You are telling me that this occurred about 10 years ago when you were barely reaching your teen years? Is that what you're telling me? I find it rather hard to believe that at the time you would have known Guardian at that age, who would have been 18."

"I was still 21 at the time when my body was taken " Terra muttered.

Naomasa frowned for a moment before standing up, as if trying to figure out something while he stared down the young man in front of him. Nothing had gone off in him, no indication of lying. But, there was no way none of that could line up. There couldn't be.

"There is no use in lying." He said, voice calm. "That wouldn't add up, how would you have not aged between then, and now?"

"I'd like to know that too." Terra sighed.

"So you're telling me, that 10 years ago your body was taken and you were, what forced out as that thing? Trapped under the influence of the villain who did that to you. Present day 10 years later, your body hasn't aged at all. And it had taken you this long to finally break free with the help of Guardian?"

Terra took a deep breath and nodded yes.

Naomasa looked a bit uneasy. It sounded like fiction, all of it, but he had no trace of him lying. Nothing had gone off with his Quirk. But with his Quirk cancelling cuffs he shouldn't be able to bypass his abilities in any way!

He shook his head and sat back down.

"We're almost done." He stated after a moment.

"Now, I feel that it's best we know. Do you know the identity of the villain you claim did this?"

 **-LotF-**

All Might sighed as he turned a corner, the station not too far away, his successor was unusually quiet. The boy hadn't said much after All Might explained why he was wanted to put in his own statement of the villain.

He had been stuck in his head, staring out the window. Going through the events in his mind no doubt. But there was something else to his air of quiet, a feeling on tension.

"Young Midoriya." As soon as they hit a red light, All Might gently nudged him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"H-Huh?" He looked over to the man.

"Is everything alright Young Midoriya?" He asked, looking at the boy in concern.

"Y-Yeah. Just thinking." He scratched at his face, putting on a lopsided smile.

"Are you nervous about the statement?"

"No! No, it's not that." He shook his head. "I was just...I mean...that villain. I'm just trying to figure out why Aqua would want to get custody of him." He looked to the side. "He can't be that important to her, can he? I mean, I know what I saw just after I regained consciousness but…" He frowned.

All Might frowned to himself as he listened to the boy ramble on. He was nervous. Nervous about him being near, him possibly trying something again. Even if his sister was there to stop him.

Izuku had continued to ramble on, not even realizing the car was parked or that they had arrived at the station.

The skeletal man watched him go on and on until he let out a sigh a placed a hand stop the boy's head. Stopping him mid-rant.

"How about after we're done here we go grab something sweet?" He smiled, an attempt to put him at ease.

He didn't miss the way Izuku went pink. "Y-You don't have to All Might it's okay! Besides I'm sure you have a lot of other things to do after this I really don't wanna-"

All Might sighed and gave him a tap on his head. Not hard enough to hurt him, but just enough to grab his attention again. "It's fine, really it is. Besides, I think we need to have another talk about you overstraining yourself again." Another, slightly harder tap.

"Ah, yeah." He chuckled nervously before getting out of the vehicle. He waited for a moment as All Might transformed into his muscle form, before getting out of the now cramped truck.

Izuku gasped as he walked around. "All Might, are you sure you should be in your muscle form?" He asked, being nudged to start walking forward.

"It's fine my boy." He spoke in his usual, confident tone. "I have enough energy to get through this, don't you worry."

They had walked into the station, and as soon as people caught sight of the Number 1 Hero they began to stare. Wondering what someone like him was doing at the station, and with a child no less.

As soon as the hero looked over a lot of them averted their eyes. Save for one who was walking towards them.

"All Might." A tired looking man in an overcoat walked over. He actually looked happy to see him.

"Hello Detective, I believe my student and I were called here?" He asked, trying to keep a professional air while strangers were around.

"Yes, I did. This way please." He quickly guided the two down a hall away from the others in the lobby. Towards the interrogation rooms.

There was an air of tension in the hall, mumbles and a few shouts behind the doors where other criminals were being questioned. A few quiet rooms where they were either empty or a civilian was giving their own side of a story involving a crime.

"Just down the hall, the room to the left." Naomasa pointed before looking at his phone. "I have to go deal with something real quick, I won't be long." He quickly hurried off and left the two alone.

"Come on Young Midoriya." The hero sighed. "I'm sure we won't be here long." They continued walking until a door opened, and they shifted to the side to give those exiting room.

Izuku's breath caught in his throat as he saw who it was. Out of the room came the villain from the USJ attack.

He had been looking down until he noticed the people in front of him. He looked up and saw the familiar face of the boy from before. Just like before he had an expression of terror. Except this time he was in control.

The villain opened his mouth to say something until he caught sight of All Might. Bright blue orbs glared at him, clear hostility in them. The smile he had on before had turned into something more of a frown. The large man placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and gently pushed him forward hurrying him past the villain.

Izuku speed-walked to the room, throwing open the door before running in.

All Might had kept an eye on the villain as the officers handling him said a few things to him and shoved him forward. The young man looked over his shoulder, head snapping forward when he realized he was still being glared at.

The hero watched them leave the hall before walking in and closing the door behind him. "Are you okay Young Midoriya?" He asked, walking over to the boy.

"Y-Yeah...yeah I'm okay. Didn't think he'd be here."

"I thought he would have been gone by now as well." He patted his shoulder. "But he's gone now."

Izuku grimaced. "Is he?" He asked, staring forward. "Is he really?"

"I mean...Aqua is trying to take him in. A-And...that's not…she doesn't..." He groaned and began to pull at his hair in frustration.

All Might, though in his gargantuan form, gently grabbed his hands and removed them from his hair. He placed his hands down and looked at his successor.

"Young Midoriya, you're scared of him. Aren't you?" He asked.

His head snapped up. "What! N-No I…" He looked embarrassed at the thought. He was supposed to be a hero, he shouldn't be scared!

"It's alright to be frightened of a villain." All Might spoke softly. "There's no shame in that, none at all. In fact, for a time I was scared of him too. Although perhaps not for the same reason as you."

Izuku bit his lip and quickly wiped at the tears that had begun to build, escalating to furiously rubbing his eyes.

"Young Midoriya."

"I _am_ scared!" He admitted, albeit a bit louder than he meant to be. "B-But I'm also, I'm also angry. And it's stupid, and I know that and it just makes me more upset!"

"Why-"

"I'm angry at Aqua!" He unintentionally raised his voice. "I'm just so...argh!" He looked at his hands and shoved them in his pockets, feeling them burn. He had hoped his hero hadn't seen the flames that burned in his hands.

The elder sighed and looked over the boy nervously. He kept his eyes trained on the ground, biting his lip and trying to blink away his tears.

All Might said nothing as he reached over an arm and placed his hand on the shoulder furthest from him. He gently pulled the boy a bit closer and let him collect himself before the door opened again.

Naomasa walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Alright, I don't want to take up too much of your time so...is everything alright?" He took notice of the two facing away from him.

All Might looked to Izuku, who nodded and wiped away his tears before taking a deep breath.

"I-I'm good." He muttered.

All Might nodded before looking to his friend. "I'll go first."

 **-SotP-**

Aqua hummed to herself as she sifted through a few of her papers. Being a teacher wasn't as easy as she thought it would be.

She had been lounging on the couch, her phone beside her. It had taken all of her willpower not to grab the phone and call her brother. He hadn't come home yet, even though he should have been home at least 2 hours ago.

It was starting to get dark, and if anything that made her even more nervous.

Inko had insisted that he was fine, as she had called him earlier. He said he was fine, and that he might be home a bit late. She noted that he sounded a bit upset, so she hadn't pried too much. She had been set at ease with the knowledge that he was with one of his teachers.

Aqua bit her lip as she shuffled through her papers again. After a moment she set down her paperwork and grabbed her phone, about to call her brother when the front door opened.

She stood up, listening to the clicks before her brother came into view. He was wearing workout clothes, and he looked beyond exhausted.

She crossed her arms and cleared her throat, making his head snap up.

"You're home late." Aqua stated, watching him walk across the room and following him into the kitchen.

Izuku shrugged. "I guess." He mumbled, looking in the microwave to see a plate their mom had saved him.

"You guess?" Aqua raised an eyebrow. "It's dark out there Izuku, what if one of those creatures had come after you?"

"I'm not a helpless kid Aqua." He huffed, grabbing a fork.

She gave him a look, deciding to move onto the next subject before he decided to run away.

"You mind telling me where you were?" She asked.

"At the station." He mumbled, shoving a forkful of food in his mouth.

Aqua nearly choked on her breath. "T-The station? Izuku why on Earth were you over at the-"

"They wanted my statement about that villain from USJ. You know, to help decide who's going to get custody of him. Which I had the pleasure of finding out you're in the running of." He aggressively bit into a piece of bread.

Aqua frowned to herself. She figured they'd want him over there and had been planning to take him tomorrow. But she had at least wanted to talk to him about Terra, just a little bit. Something to help him understand why she would be fighting this hard for him. To explain just a bit of the bigger picture.

"Who took you over to the station?"

"All Might," Izuku answered.

She bristled a bit.

Why on earth would All Might take her brother to the station? What was he thinking? More importantly, why?

"So you've already given your statement?" She asked.

"Yeah." He nodded, quickly finishing up whatever was on his plate. He looked tense as he walked over to the sink and began to wash his dishes.

"Izuku we need to talk." Aqua started, walking over to him.

He grit his teeth. "About?"

She frowned. "A lot."

"What constitutes as a lot?" He asked.

"Izuku, don't be smart with me. This is important."

He shook his head and walked past her quickly, his back still over his shoulder.

She followed him, holding back a noise of irritation. "Izuku." She grabbed his arm, about to speak until he suddenly yanked it out of her grasp and sent a mild shock of electricity at her.

Not skipping a beat, not realizing what he'd done, he started up on his own. "You know I'd like to have a talk too! But you don't see me pestering you and following you around during any free time you have! Maybe, for once, you can take the obvious hint and leave me alone! Because clearly, I am not the most important thing on your list!" He shouted, before turning and slamming the door to his room.

Aqua had been taken aback by his outburst, too shocked to get that angry with him.

She stepped forward and knocked on his door. She hadn't gotten an answer until her third try where he had banged on the door.

A clear 'Leave me alone'.

Inko ended up coming down the hall to ask what happened, half asleep and clearly exhausted.

Aqua did her best to reassure her that it was nothing, just something between her and Izuku they'd sort out later.

They _would_ sort it out later, she'd make sure of it. Even if it took a bit of time. It was unfair to him not to know the whole story, not only as her brother but as a future Keyblade Wielder.

Hopefully, though, he'll be more willing to talk later.

 **-LotF-**

The room had a heavy air to it as the teachers sat around a large table. The principal at the head of the table had his paws folded one over the other.

All Might sat in his seat, barely able to contain his shaking. The woman beside him seemed a bit relieved, not blending in well with the current atmosphere.

"So he's going to be staying here. At UA?" All Might asked, an edge to his voice.

"Yes, he is. As such, I feel that it is best we work out a system of sorts while he's here." Nedzu responded.

"Is there going to be any kind of restrictive equipment on him, at all?" Shouta narrowed his eyes, he was mostly healed, although Recovery Gicancelingm keep a cast on his injured arm.

"Of course he is going to be wearing Quirk cancelling cuffs." Nedzu nodded. "But he will be under constant supervision by Guardian." He gestured to the hero who gave a small wave to the others.

"Even when he is around other students? During training? During classes? Have you even taken into account how the students who were present during the USJ attack, will feel with him around?" All Might spoke up, his tone rather harsh.

A few of the heroes were taken aback by his uncharacteristic reply.

"Don't you think that there should be more than just Quirk cancellation equipment on him?" He stood up. "Who is to say something like that may stop him? Why such light precautions?"

"I'm sure you heard Nedzu earlier." Aqua stood up to at him. "I will be watching him while I am here, he won't be able to do much while I'm around not to mention that he will be unable to use his powers. He is surrounded by heroes who I'm sure will be here at the first sign of trouble he would cause. But that is not going to be needed because he will not _cause_ any trouble."

"I mean no offense Guardian but you seem to be very favorable towards this man." All Might said, leaning forward lightly. "The same man that nearly killed your brother after he jumped in to save you. I'm not sure if you've actually put into account how your brother might feel about this. Have you?" He whispered that last part, but it was loud enough for a few of the heroes just beside the two to hear.

All Might straightened up before checking the time on his phone. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to prepare my lesson for the day." Before anyone could say anything the man walked out of the room briskly, slamming the door behind him.

Mic and Midnight looked at each other before glancing at the slammed door, then to their mutual friend who looked pissed off.

Mic coughed before speaking up. "So uh, where is he gonna stay while you know, we're not here?"

"I was just about to get to that." Nedzu sighed.

 **-.-**

He had been dozing off in his cell, there wasn't a window in his so he was unable to tell what time it was. He could only guess based off of what was happening around him.

There wasn't a lot of chatter from the other prisoners, who he refused to interact with, so he assumed it must have been sometime at night. Though there was talk of food, so maybe it was sometime in the day?

It didn't really matter though, he couldn't sleep anyway.

Whenever he found himself actually slipping into the darkness of sleep he would find himself back in that place. Bound in chains and forced to do the bidding of the man who put him there in the first place.

He would be drowning all over again, clawing at the darkness in order to rise up and take in a breath of fresh air. To defy him in whatever way he could.

Sleep was not something that came to him easily if the bags beneath his eyes were anything to go by. He would sit around in his cell, wandering around in his own thoughts. Once or twice he's tried to summon his Keyblade, despite the supposed canceling effects of his cuffs.

Much to his dismay, it never came to him. It brought him agony, like a vital piece of him, was missing. He could sense it, it was somewhere out there. But it didn't answer to him, and it probably never would again.

"Maybe this is punishment for all that I've done…" He muttered, his eyes downcast. He ran a hand through his messy, uncombed hair and sighed. "I guess I deserve it...after everything I did to Aqua and Ven."

"Even now she's still trying to save me, because of how badly I've failed them."

He hung his head low, going back in his mind. Trying to find a better place, other than the cold, cramped cell. They hadn't even let Aqua see him, taking away the little bit of warmth and light he wanted to keep a hold of.

Just as he found himself drifting off to sleep, mind going back to his home a loud slam jerked him back to the waking world and sent him scrambling to his feet.

At the door to his cell were two armed guards.

"It's been decided where you're going to be staying, it's your lucky day." One of them said as the other walked over and secured him.

"What?"

They said nothing before he was pushed forward and led out of the cell, nothing being said between them as they hurried him out of there. Terra had learned the first time and kept his mouth shut, not trying to engage in any kind of conversation with any guards.

They didn't like him, and they weren't afraid to express that.

He kept his heads down, hearing chatter and a few snaps. Before there was a loud buzz and he was sent walking once again. Before long a door was opened and he was greeted with the warmth of the day and bright sunlight.

He withheld a groan and squinted his eyes, trying to adjust to the bright rays.

He didn't get very long to enjoy the light before he was shoved into a car with an accompanying officer.

 _They said it was my lucky day, does that mean I'm staying with Aqua? That I'm finally out of there for good?_

The thought sent relief through him, taking away some of the tension in his body. He had to fight to keep a smile from reaching his lips, not wanting to come off as suspicious.

He kept quiet as he listened to the officers speak.

"Does UA seriously want to take him in?"

"Apparently. They were also contesting with Guardian to get a hold of him."

"Why on earth were they trying for this? Why would they want one of the same villains that attacked their school, to be _held_ by the school?"

"Show of strength maybe? Trying to prove something by saying USJ didn't affect them? They don't have a villain rehab program do they?"

"No, remember? They once wanted to try that but were denied permission."

"Ah, right."

Terra grimaced at that. UA got custody of him?

Yeah, that was the middle ground but it didn't mean that was what he was hoping for. The same place that he attacked, right. How well would that go down?

Aqua would be there, right? Surely she'd be able to explain some of the situation, maybe saving him from what was surely going to be harsher brutality than he's faced thus far.

"You understand?" One of the officers barked at him.

His head snapped up. "Excuse me?" He asked.

"Tch." The man shook his head. He looked like he wanted to yell at him, but held himself back. He looked out the window and sighed. "And of course there's the welcoming committee." He huffed.

The car slowly came to a stop, much to Terra's relief, and there was more shuffling around. The door opened and he was dragged out back into the light of day. The sun hung high in the sky, clearly noon.

He let his eyes adjust before looking around, spotting a familiar head of blue hair not too far away. In fact, she was walking over to them.

They had him straighten up as she approached.

The two sides stood there, staring at each other until one of them spoke up.

"Guardian."

"Officers."

"You're going to be taking him into UA?"

"I am, and I'm going to be the one watching over him while he is here." She stepped forward. "Now, if you don't mind handing him over."

One of them scoffed and shoved the young man forward, he kept his footing much to the irritation of the officers.

"Thank you officers." Aqua put him in a hold to put the officers somewhat at ease. "Have a nice day."

Aqua marched him into the building, looking ahead and keeping a stern face on as they entered the building.

"Aqua…"

"Shh, hold on a minute." She muttered, keeping her gaze forward.

Aqua led him through the halls, moving as quickly as possible. They walked past closed doors with plaques on them. He was pretty sure a majority of what they passed were closets.

Aqua looked around before rounding a corner and walking into a room a the end of a long hall. She sighed as she opened the door and walked him in, shutting it behind her.

She leaned against the door before letting out a long sigh, and walking over to hug him.

He smiled as he hugged her back to the best of his ability.

"I'm glad you're here." She said, leaning against him.

"I'm glad to be here." He hummed, feeling at ease once again. "It's probably better than, what were the guards saying? Tartarus?"

"It is a _lot_ better." Aqua confirmed. "At least here you'll have a lot more freedom compared to that place." She pulled away and took his cuffs, removing the chain that connected them.

"There, that should be a bit better." She watched him flex his arms, thankful for the freedom. "It took a bit of haggling, but I was able to get the greenlight to have these things off in here at least. But everywhere else you're going to have to be fully cuffed."

"Who did you have to haggle with?" He asked.

"The principal, and a few of my colleagues. But I was able to talk them into putting some kind of trust in you. So you have to be very careful around here Terra, nobody is happy to see you."

He nodded. "Yeah, since I'm the one that-"

"That wasn't you." She cut him off, voice a bit louder than she intended it to be. She was sick of hearing the others put the blame on him, especially since she knew was was truly to blame. "That, wasn't you." She shook her head.

Terra frowned. "That doesn't mean that they still don't blame me. Aqua, they don't know the whole story." He paused for a moment before giving her a look. "Do they?"

"No, they don't. Only one person does, and she sadly doesn't have any power here." she rubbed the back of her head. "But I'll try my best to convince them you're not a threat. It'll take a while, especially with All Might who seems to have a special kind of hatred for you."

Terra looked at her. "All Might...is he.." He put his hand up to emphasize height. "Like, really tall? Blonde, Always looks like he's smiling until he's not?"

"You got it in one." She rubbed her eyes. "He, was heavily against you being here."

"I'm pretty sure if he saw me he'd end me right then and there. Sure looked like he wanted to at the station." He recalled, going over and sitting on the bed. It was a bit more comfortable than he was expecting. "That kid, Izuku right?" He looked to his friend. "He looked utterly terrified when he saw me...Aqua how badly did I…"

She turned away. "He was in pretty bad shape at the end of everything, but he's okay now." She let out a huff. "I still have to talk to him, about...well everything. You, the Keyblade...though what's going to make it hardest is dealing with his new Quirk. Which I have no idea how he got!"

"You sound pretty stressed out."

"I am." She sat next to him. "I really am. There's still a lot to get settled, especially with Tensei."

"That the one who kind of freaked out when he saw us."

She covered her face and nodded. "I am still so angry with him, but I also just want to talk it out. But I don't want to do it while I'm still angry because then I'm going to say things that I regret, I know it."

"Then let yourself cool down." Terra looked at her. "Talk to this Izuku kid and...wait talking about him. When did you get a brother!"

She looked at him before starting to laugh. "That is what you're most concerned about right now?"

He went a little red at her laughter. "Don't dodge the question!"

She continued to giggle, despite the glares she received from him. Only laughing harder as he slowly joined in.

Their laughter was short lived as a beeping went off from her phone. She stopped and looked down, letting out a sigh.

"I've got to go. I'll be right back, go ahead and get used to your room. I have to clear something up, see you in a bit." She gave a small smile before walking out. She could leave him alone, just for a minute, besides he knows better than to try anything.

She cringed to herself as she locked up the room, having to deal with the multitudes of locks they decided to place on the door.

Of course, he was still seen as a dangerous villain, and if she couldn't be around then they had to take every precaution.

She sighed to herself and ran off, of course it would be right at that moment Shouta would want to chew her out for this. There was no doubt she was probably going to get the verbal lashing of the century.

She ran through the halls, sprinting over to one of the teacher lounges. She groaned to herself and steeled her nerves, ready to deal with his anger.

She turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door, peeking in to see if he was there.

Instead of seeing the grumpy face she had been expecting, instead she saw Izuku and Yagi talking to one another.

The elder was ruffling the younger's hair, who looked a bit nervous.

"Young Midoriya, we need to have a talk. And I feel it's better to address this sooner than later."

Izuku's lips drew into a thin line.

"Meet me at Dagobah Beach. Understand me young man?"

Izuku nodded, he looked a bit guilty. "Yes sir." he muttered.

Aqua narrowed her eyes, silently shutting the door before turning around to walk away. The beach? She'd just have to meet them there.

Just as she turned away, she came face to face with the one who called her.

"Aqua!"

"Hey Shouta…"

 **-SotP-**

Izuku gave a shaky sigh as he looked over the clean beach, the waves crashing gently on the sand. The dark sky above them was littered with tiny diamonds, distant stars.

He could see his withered mentor standing near the water, staring off into the distance. The wind blew through his messy yellow hair, sending it further askew.

All Might had wanted to talk to him, but he hadn't given much detail as to what it was in particular But he had a hunch, and he was scared of being right.

Had All Might seen him use magic? Oh god what if he did? Then that would go into a whole discussion about his sister. How he couldn't control his abilities, how he defied her.

Would All Might still want him as his successor?

Probably not.

 _You don't know that…_

He shook his head and lightly slapped his face, steeling his nerves.

"There's no point in putting it off. You should have known that it would have caught up to you at some point." He muttered to himself, making his way down to the beach.

He tried to keep his pace slow, and footsteps quiet as he slowly approached his idol. He stopped walking, looking to his back.

"All Might?" He asked, swallowing hard.

The man didn't speak, didn't even acknowledge him at first. He just stayed quiet, and kept his gaze on the horizon.

It had felt like an eternity before the man spoke, letting Izuku's anxiety build up more, and more. Until-

"Young man, I don't appreciate being lied to." All Might said after a while, keeping his back to the boy.

Izuku gulped. "L-Lied to?"

He nodded. "When I saw you in the Entrance Exam, those flames, I had managed to convince myself that those were from the explosion that ensued after you defeated the zero pointer. I turned away from it."

Izuku gulped, he knew where this was going.

"Then, whenever you seemed to get upset, I noticed you had begun to accumulate burns on your hands whenever you got upset. I thought those were due to some kind of self destructive tendencies."

He rubbed his palms.

"And then USJ happened."

He felt his stomach drop.

"Imagine how I wanted to react when I saw flames trailing after your attacks, when you started to make ice when that beast had a hold of you. It was undeniable."

All Might turned to him, a look of disappointment on his face. "So tell me young Midoriya, are you Quirkless as you say you are?"

Izuku only looked up to his stern blue eyes, biting his lip as he looked down.

"I am…" He murmured.

"Excuse me?"

"I-I am." He said a bit louder, shaking his head before looking up. "A-All Might I didn't lie about not having a Quirk. Honest!"

The man said nothing as he looked down to the stressed boy. An unsaid 'explain'.

"When I was f-four years old, I didn't manifest a Quirk like everyone else did. While everyone else was starting to get their own powers I was left in the dust. We went to the doctor, and...well they found an extra joint in my pinky toe. I-I wasn't ever going to manifest a Quirk."

All Might watched him, looking for any sign of lying.

"My dream of being a hero just started to fall apart. It felt like my world was crumbling…" He let out a shaky sigh. "T-Then Aqua came along."

All Might nodded. "I noticed your abilities were similar to her's."

Izuku gulped. "I-I...I couldn't use her power. Not like her…those powers didn't start manifesting until after...well I'm sure you remember."

All Might tried to look back, not sure what he meant. "No young man, I do not."

Izuku paled a bit, keeping his gaze to the ground. "10 years ago on July 15th, there was a villain attack on the city." He mumbled. "One of those monsters appeared, and went after us. It would have killed me if you hadn't finished it off."

It was All Might's turn to pale, and he gaped at the boy.

"Those abilities didn't start to come forward until after I...used her weapon."

The same weapon no one else could use. If someone else other than her got a hold of it it would disappear from their hands and into hers. He had seen it once, but he had never heard of someone else able to use it.

The fact he had been able to use her weapon, both as a child and as the young man he was now; and his abilities are similar to her's. It could only mean…

"She passed her powers down to you?"

Izuku was quiet for a moment. "I don't...really think so." He looked at his hands. "I can only use that one part of her power, but nothing else. It doesn't really matter, since all it's good for is just making me hurt myself."

All Might was quiet. Izuku seemed to feel such disdain for that power. Yet, with All Might's power he seemed to somehow embrace that, despite with every use he shatters his bones. He was there, to try and help him control One For All, did he have anyone to teach him about the other powers?

"Did she ever ever try to teach you?" He asked.

"She did…" Izuku muttered. "Until it started to hurt me. Then she just up and left...she gave up on me." He shook his head. "And I guess she had a good reason to, what good is a power if it does nothing but hurt you?"

Pot, meet kettle.

"She wasn't going to help me…" He looked bit upset. "And once again my dream was falling apart...and then, well you happened."

He felt sheepish, like he was just making excuses. It certainly seemed that way.

"Why don't you try to control this power?" All Might asked him.

Izuku fought back a scowl. "It's not my power All Might. I-It never was. I could never claim it as my own…I never will."

All Might opened his mouth to speak, but Izuku kept going. "I've rejected her...and her powers. Because I don't need them. And I don't want them, it feels...it's just not mine! It's-"

"Izuku Midoriya!"

The two jumped at the sound of a new voice. Izuku turned around and saw none other than his sister.

"A-Aqua!" He took a step back and she marched over to them, wearing a stern expression.

He started to back up when a wall of ice rose just behind him.

"You're not running away this time Izuku." She said evenly, approaching him. She shot a look at the startled man. "And you're not going anywhere either."

Aqua approached Izuku, glaring down at him.

"Now for you, I have been trying to talk to you for a while now, about a _lot_." She started.

"Aqua w-what are you doing here?" Izuku stammered.

"Honestly that is a question I'd like to ask you, both of you." She looked between the two. "But we can address that later on." She crossed her arms, looking down at him.

A tense silence hung in the air, pressing in on the cornered boy.

"How long?" She asked, emphasizing each word.

Izuku gulped before he answered. "H-How long what?" He asked, keeping his head down. His eyes darted around, trying to find some way out. His mind screamed at him to run away, to get out of this situation.

"Don't you dare play dumb with me know exactly what I'm talking about."

Izuku gulped and kept his gaze down. "M-My Quirk?"

"How long have you had that Quirk?"

"S-Since...a few months before school started."

"Do not lie to me. Look at me when you're answering Izuku."

He was hesitant to obey her, his face pale as he slowly looked up. She looked angry, crossed with disappointment. He felt himself shudder under her gaze.

"How long, have you had this Quirk?"

He gulped as he answered her. "T-The entrance e-exam."

She let out a sigh before asking her next question.

"Where did you get your Quirk?"

Izuku stiffened, turning his gaze away from her and looking off to the side. He fiddled with his hands, and neither of the two adults failed to notice the frost spreading across his hands. "I-I was a late-"

"Don't try to pull that on me Izuku, you're Quirkless. You know that, and I know that. There is no possible way for you to have manifested a Quirk, unless you got it from somewhere. So I'll ask again, where did you get your Quirk?"

He didn't even glance at All Might before looking back at her. "Aqua...I-I can't tell you that." He answered.

"Izuku-"

"I can't!" He yelled. "It's a secret I promised to keep. So I can't tell you!"

Aqua narrowed her eyes before glancing over at the man who could do nothing but watch at the moment. "Do you know anything about this Yagi?" She asked.

"No young lady, I do not." He shook his head.

"You mind telling me what it is you wanted to talk to my brother about?" She asked. "And don't try to deny anything, I spotted you two in the teacher's lounge."

The two stiffen up at that.

"You spied on us?!" Izuku was quick to retaliate.

"I didn't mean to do that, I thought Shouta had been in the room. But you don't get to try and spin this around on me."

Izuku grit his teeth before shaking his head. "Well what do you want Aqua, I'm telling you everything I really can at the moment!"

Aqua wasn't fazed by his outburst this time. "Are you? Is it that you can't tell me where you got your Quirk, or you just won't? And why on earth would you take one, when you already have a power of your own? You have-"

"Don't say it!" He yelled. "Don't, say it." He looked to his palms, feeling heat build up. Melting the ice into steam. "You do not get to demand that of me! You do not get to hold this stupid power over my head because you know what Aqua, this so called power isn't mine! It never was, it's always been _yours_!"

"Excuse me?"

Izuku shook his head, gritting his teeth. Before long be found himself pacing with the short distance he had.

"This power." He held up his hands, a few burns starting to form. "Isn't mine, it never was and it never will be!"

Aqua grimaced at his injuries. "It _is_ yours Izuku, and you're only hurting yourself by rejecting it. If you just listen I can help you and-"

"Help me?" He cut her off, a burning feeling rose in his chest. He was angry, and finally, after so long those thoughts and feelings he had been shoving down for so long came boiling over. His frustration taking over.

"Help me! Now, after all these years you want to help me? Well guess what Aqua, you're a few years too late! Why do you care now Aqua, why now of all times? Because now I seem to be worth your time? Because it looks like I actually need you now?" He stomped towards her.

Both could only stare and watch his enraged outburst.

"You know when I actually needed help Aqua? Try when I was 4, maybe 5. That, That is when I needed you the most!" He screamed, tears beginning to well. "But instead you saw that all I could do was hurt myself with your power, and you abandoned me!"

"I did not-"

"You did! I wanted to learn, I did, but you left me! I was pretty much powerless, you left me to the wolves! You wanna know how out of touch with everything you are? Kacchan and I? We are _far_ from friends anymore! He despises me. We were supposed to protect each other, take care of one another. You wanna know what he did? He beat the crap out of me every chance he got, belittling me, burning me, everything! And you seem to be under the impression we're still friends somehow!"

The two looked shocked at the confession about Katsuki.

He furiously wipe away his tears before continuing. "And then, as if to top it all off you wanna know how I know how little you care?" He was right in front of her. "I meant what I said the other day, clearly I am not the most important thing in your life! Because that villain is, you wanna know how I felt when I found out you were trying to get custody of that guy?"

She didn't answer.

"I felt like you betrayed me! Like you don't care, and clearly I'm right. Did you even consider for a second how that would affect me? What about mom? You think just because you were around he wouldn't try anything?"

She looked upset at his accusations. He didn't know the whole story, and if he just gave her a minute…

"You don't care! You never have, you only did when it was at your convenience. You said I could be a hero, you promised to help me. And instead you left me alone! That path, you had laid out for me crumbled and whatever hope you gave me you just took away!"

He looked up at her fiercely. "The one who gave me this Quirk, this power. He gave me hope, he gave me a second chance, and unlike you I know he won't leave me! So why don't you run off with your villain friend, since he seems to be so-"

He was cut off with a harsh slap across the face, making him stumble back.

Aqua looked angry, and hurt. She had reacted without thinking. When she realized what she done, her eyes widened.

"Izuku! I-" She reached a hand forward trying to make sure he was okay, when her hand was slapped away.

He looked up at her, tears streaming down his face as he held his swollen cheek. Ice covered half his face.

"Well...now I guess I know where you stand." He muttered.

"Young Midoriya…" All Might reached out, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

Izuku just shrugged it off, and walked past the two at a brisk pace.

Aqua was about to dash after him when the withered man grabbed her arm and shook his head.

"Leave him be."

Izuku kept his gaze straight ahead, trying to hold back the hiccuping sobs that wanted to escape from him.

 _I reject you Aqua, and I reject your power..._

 **-LotF-**

 **Hey guys, I'm sorry this took so long! Things have been pretty busy over here, getting cleared for graduation and making sure everything is sorted out.**

 **I kind of had a hard time writing this chapter, I'm not sure why it just felt kind of hard to get through. But I got it done! I was able to get a good portion of this done at school. I ended up bringing my own laptop and ran on a hotspot when I could.**

 **Since summer is coming up I'm hoping to get more done since I'll have more access to my laptop whenever and wherever.**

 **Anyway, that's all I really got for now. Hopefully, I'll be able to update soon.**

 **Have a good day/night, everybody!**


	14. Chapter 14- Small Talks

**Small Talks**

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a dark place. A bright light shone above him far in the distance. Something so far away, an escape he'd never reach.

He was lying on the cold ground. If he rapped his knuckles against it, it would let off a solid yet somehow fragile sound.

He stood up, his footsteps echoing against the dark, reflective surface. He walked around, confusion filling him.

What was this place?

He frowned to himself and decided on a direction, forward. There was no sense in going in circles if he couldn't even see what was in front of him. His mind began to wander for a short time, trying to piece together where on earth he was.

Before he could even try to guess, he let out a loud yelp of surprise as he found no ground beneath the foot he put forward. He was about to fall forward when he threw himself back with a loud thud. It echoed loudly around him, into the endless darkness around him.

He groaned to himself before getting to his knees and feeling around for the edge of the platform he woke up on. When he found it, he pulled himself towards it and peered over the edge, hoping to find some clue as to where he was.

He saw nothing else but darkness below him, save for tiny slivers of light. Far from the top of the platform, he was on, there seemed to be glass windows, a dull light filling them and revealing intricate patterns.

There were empty spaces leading up to where he was, those stained glass windows far away from him.

But it gave him an idea, if those things came from below then there had to be a bottom right? There had to be a place where he could walk away from. There had to be a way to could get down.

He grit his teeth and stepped a few feet back, before turning around and going at a run towards the edge. Just as he was about to jump off, he was grabbed harshly by something. He yelled in alarm as he was dragged away from the edge, back to the safety of the strange place.

He struggled and tried to fight against the person who dragged him until he was thrown to the ground. He looked up to his assailant, only to be met with the sight of his phantom. The figure of light flickered in and out as if struggling to keep its form.

"You just don't learn do you?" He hissed, clenching his fist.

Izuku grit his teeth and shook his head. "What are you talking about?" He asked. "What do you want from me?" He cried, not yet realizing the darkness of the platform was beginning to swirl around him.

"You can't keep running away." He hissed. "It's not possible."

Izuku gasped as he began to sink into the ground, tendrils of darkness wrapping around him and dragging him down.

"You have a responsibility, whether you like it or not! You don't get to reject this, not when it's part of you. Not when _I'm_ part of you!"

He screamed out as he tried to claw his way out of bindings, trying to regain the ground he had lost. It was no use, he was too far gone.

"But you can try as much as you'd like. Just see what happens…"

He let out one more yell, reaching up towards the distant light before the darkness consumed him. Fading into itself, and swirling into where the boy had been dragged under.

The phantom glanced over to the true form of the platform as it began to reveal itself, spotting ahead of green hair before looking away and glaring down at the draining darkness.

"You'll learn." It muttered.

Meanwhile, Izuku was drowning. The darkness was suffocating, and every gulp of air he tried to take in felt more like a lungful of water. He flailed and tried to find the light he had seen before, reaching up to where he had seen it.

"No...please…" He whimpered, hand outstretched.

Through his spinning vision, he thought he saw a few bubbles rising. As if he really _was_ underwater.

Just as he found himself slipping away, he saw a ray of light appear above him. His green eyes darted to the light, gasping as he saw a gloved hand reaching down from the radiating light. He struggled to reach it, and just as he was about to grasp onto the hand his vision went dark.

 **.-.**

He cried out as he shot up from the sand he was laying on, flailing around trying to get to his feet until he fell over onto the sand. He laid there for a while, taking in greedy gulps of air, the painful sensation of suffocation still lingering.

He laid there until he was sure the world had stopped spinning. It took some time for him to get to his feet, having nothing to help him steady himself. Once he managed to stand up straight, he opened his eyes to see the rising sun.

 **-LotF-**

"I'm going to be supervising your training today." Aizawa's tired voice was heard by all in the classroom. He stood at the doorway to the gym with his gear at the ready. "Things around here are going to be weird for a time, I'm sure most of you have heard about certain events that have taken place."

Izuku kept his head down as his two friends stood at attention, listening attentively. He already knew what this was about. The thought of his teacher actually being there made him feel somewhat safer.

He already knew who was behind that door, probably standing next to his sister. He grimaced at the mere thought of her. He unconsciously rose a hand to his cheek, it still felt a bit tender.

After the confrontation at the beach, he hadn't gone home, instead, he had walked around the park where he had collapsed during his training. Sitting on a bench and letting himself seethe in whatever residual anger he had left.

He ended up having to run off after letting out a yell of anger and raging fire appeared at his hands, burning the poor bench and the sleeves of his shirt. He ran back to the beach, certain both adults were gone. Once he was sure there was no sign of them, he had let himself rest at the beach. Growing increasingly frustrated and tired as elements flared out despite his struggles to bury it deep within himself. Never reveal it to the light of day again.

He ended up passing out after some time, and once he had been able to wake up he realized he had a myriad of missed calls from his mother.

He ended up sheepishly calling his mentor to pick him up, seeing as there was no chance of him returning home without getting chewed out. He didn't want to deal with that, he didn't know if he could. Especially if Aqua was there.

All Might didn't question why he was at the beach, which he was thankful for. He just supposed the man had connected the dots and let it be. Needless to say, when he arrived at school and was taken to the nurse's office, Recovery Girl was far from pleased to see the boy with burnt arms and a slightly swollen cheek.

Izuku didn't explain, despite the questions he was barraged with. He mumbled out a few answers when he saw fit.

Needless to say, Shouta was _far_ from happy to see the problem child snoozing at his desk, way before he should have even been there. At least he had left the boy alone after All Might had asked him to.

"Understand?"

Izuku looked up as Shouta called out, getting a 'yes sir' from all the students.

"You okay there Deku?" Ochako looked over to him, concern on her features.

"I'm fine." He halfheartedly smiled, dark bags beneath his eyes.

"Are you sure?" Tenya looked over to him, starting to walk forward with the others.

"Yeah, just...just a bad night." He sighed.

"Maybe you should see someone about that." Ochako frowned. "You seem to be having a lot of bad nights."

"I agree, sleep is essential in order to perform at your best." Tenya started his chopping motions, to the amusement of the other two. "Perhaps Recovery Girl can help!"

"Yeah, that's true." The greenette sighed.

He was about to walk off as his name was called by All Might, the other two had followed him. Which was strange, since Ochako was usually under Aqua's watch, and Tenya hadn't been called yet.

He gave the two confused glances before Tenya spoke up. "We're not leaving you alone until you say that you're going to see Recovery Girl, Izuku." Tenya crossed his arms.

Izuku was quiet for a moment, before looking between the two and sighing, seeing no way out of it. "Alright." He muttered.

"Want us to go with you?" Ochako tilted her head.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I wouldn't mind it to be honest."

"After school?"

"I guess."

Ochako gave him a relieved smile before a hand placed itself on her shoulder.

"Uraraka, come on." Aqua approached them. "Didn't you hear me?"

"Oh, sorry Guardian!" She turned around a smile on her face. She was about to run off to the other side of the room when Aqua looked to Izuku, who's gaze was set on the man a few feet behind her.

His brown hair was a mess, kind of damp. Cuffs clamped down tightly on his wrists with the chain connecting the two. His blue eyes made eye contact with Izuku, and he looked ready to say something before Aqua grabbed his attention again.

"Hey." She started. "Where were you last night? Why didn't you come home?" She asked.

Izuku looked between her and the man he had grown to fear before catching her eye, a scowl finding his face.

"Why would you care?" He hissed, backing up before turning away.

"Izuku." Her voice was firm as she grabbed his arm, making him stop in his tracks.

His friends looked between the two nervously, sensing some tension. The villain looked a bit worried, shuffling to the side.

Izuku didn't say anything, keeping his head down while his fists kept clenching and unclenching.

"Listen to me. You don't know the whole story, and I-"

"I'd say I know enough." He pulled his arm out of her grip and walked off. He didn't get very far before he was pulled to the side by Katsuki who looked like he was on an angry rant. Yelling and asking what the hell his problem was.

Tenya said nothing before hurrying off, he had heard from his brother what happened.

Ochako looked confused, looking between her friend and her teacher before running off to her side of the gym. She gave the villain a wide berth, occasionally looking behind her before she was back in the safety of numbers.

Terra looked around at all the students, noticing how they all shot him nervous glances before turning to each other and muttering to each other. A few just refused to look at him, one, in particular, a red-eyed kid looked like he wanted to straight up kill him.

That All Might guy glared down at him from across the room. He, like the blonde kid, had an air of murderous intent around him. He didn't miss the looks shot towards Aqua as well.

That black haired guy, Shouta stood at the far end of the room, arms crossed and ready to jump into action at any time.

He wasn't welcome, that was clear. So many of the kids were uneasy, and seemed downright terrified of him. Especially that Izuku kid.

He especially worried him.

Aqua told him what happened the night before, breaking down in near tears out of frustration.

He didn't disagree with the fact that he did have to know, he had to know the whole truth. About Keyblades, the other worlds, especially about Xehanort. As a Keyblade wielder, he had the right to know.

But something about that Izuku kid seemed off, and it worried him. He could sense the power within him, just like he could sense the power in Aqua. But it seemed to carry this darkness he could only hope would fade away.

But with him, the best way to describe it was unstable. It was like a pot of boiling water, with the water spilling over and making a mess, and possibly burning someone. Though most likely in the form of magic flaring out, considering what Aqua had told him.

He frowned to himself as he watched the boy ready himself against a red-haired kid with sharp teeth. The two charged towards each other, one of them seeming to somehow harden while the other had begun to evade his blows.

Izuku had dodged around and had been trying to get around him, blocking the punches and knocking away the redhead when he could. He looked like he was trying to focus on something, with every moment he had to sit still he always tensed and looked like he was about to do something. Once or twice Terra had noticed red lines beginning to appear at one of his arms. They didn't get much chance to travel down to his fist, as the redhead would interrupt him.

The greenette seemed to be getting more and more frustrated that he was unable to execute the move. After a moment or two, his frustration seemed to peak, and as he pulled a fist back, flames flared out. It startled him and made him stumble.

He was able to right himself, and stared down at his arm in a mixture of anger and fear, before snuffing it out and just as he was about to refocus himself, he earned a hard punch to the face that sent him to the ground.

"Woah! You okay?" The redhead ran over and helped him up. Izuku looked momentarily dazed.

"I'm sorry, I thought that was some sort of special move, what was that?" He heard him ask.

"N-Nothing…" Izuku groaned, rubbing his face. His arm had been burned, it didn't look too serious. It didn't seem to bother him with how he still moved it around. "Don't worry about it. Come on, let's go again."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure!"

Terra sighed and turned away, how long did he intend to push his powers away? Did he not realize the consequences that would occur? He was going to start deteriorating at some point, it was a piece of himself he couldn't deny forever.

He leaned against a wall as he looked over the rest of the gym, he could see Aqua trying to help out a blond. Kaminari, if he remembered right. He was trying to control the amount of electricity he emitted without 'short-circuiting'.

Off to the side, not too far away from his current position, was a young woman with her black hair tied up. She was going against another girl with brown hair. Both had weapons and seemed a bit clumsy using them.

Though the black haired girl seemed a bit more comfortable wielding a weapon. He couldn't help but notice she was trying to mimic Aqua's fighting style in a way. She had a few elements down, but she was trying to execute a few moves that were more tailored to someone of Aqua's skill level.

He was about to turn away when he saw one of them stumbling back. He quickly stepped forward and caught her by the shoulders.

"Woah! You okay?" He looked down at her in concern, he didn't get an answer before she looked up in shock and quickly stepped away.

"Oh, I'm...fine." She looked away from him.

Terra watched her walk away, back to her partner who looked at him nervously. In the corner of his eye, he saw Shouta narrowing his eyes. Ready to jump at him.

He sighed and stepped back towards his corner, looking around. A few of them seemed to forget he was there, so focused on their own fights. He ended up losing focus himself, tuning out the noise around him.

He couldn't help but think of his own training sessions with Master Eraqus. The wooden sword he'd use before he was able to summon his own Keyblade. The late nights he'd stay up trying to get better, to make his master proud.

He held back a chuckle, remembering how in the middle of the night he and Aqua would wake each other up for a bit of training. One time he tried to wake her up and ended up pushing her a bit too far.

He had been frozen to the wall for the rest of the night and was set free by the master when he found him in the early hours of the morning.

He had ended up getting back at her by pushing her into a body of water, knowing full well she knew how to swim.

It was about then their little prank war had started, a long while before Ven had come into the picture.

"You damn nerd!" A loud scream tore him from his thoughts, prompting him to look up. He looked to the direction the yell was coming from and a body came flying at him.

Terra gasped and ran forward a bit, catching the flying boy before he could crash into a wall. He stumbled back a bit before setting the dazed kid down.

He looked up to see the assailant, the spiky blonde who seemed to have an air of murderous intent. He looked angry...which in itself seemed terrifying. Only amplified by the explosions coming from his hands.

"What the hell are you doing you bastard?" He yelled, scowling at Terra.

"I didn't want him to get hurt so I caught him." Terra put his hands up and stepped away. "Was it you who sent him flying?" Stupid question.

"None of your damn business!"

Terra had been too busy trying not to escalate the situation to see Izuku had run off, and Shouta was approaching him. All Might was staring daggers at the man.

"You could have hurt him." Terra frowned. "You're in training, not an all-out battle."

"Shut up you-" Katsuki shut his mouth when a scarf wrapped itself around Terra and dragged him a few feet away.

"Stay away from my students." A tired voice growled at him.

Terra slightly turned his head to see red eyes glaring at him. He noticed how his hair levitated before the red faded away.

"I was just trying to-"

"Stay away from them." He narrowed his eyes.

Terra closed his mouth, there was no use in trying to argue here. He had no power, and no matter what he did he wasn't going to be able to win.

He nodded in agreement and was released, stepped away from the area.

He glanced over to where All Might was, with Izuku standing next to him.

He wanted to talk to the kid, he really did. He should know about the threat that might come after him, but that was by no means going to be easy. He was nervous and distrusting to him.

As far as he knew, _Terra_ was still the one who nearly ended his life.

He'd figure out a way to talk to Izuku, to try and chip away at the wall he put up towards them. Until then, he just had to keep his head down and try and gain the trust of the others.

 **-SotP-**

He was confused to say the slightest, but he was also borderline angry. No...no angry felt too strong of a word. Upset?

Sure, best to go with that for now. At least until he can actually sit down and mull over it. Until then, he'd rather just keep himself busy.

Better to do that than to beat the answers out of Deku.

Katsuki had been puzzled for a while, especially since USJ. He had been going over it in his mind, again and again. And trying to tie it into what was currently happening, especially Deku.

He noticed how hostile the nerd was towards his sister. How he always had this scowl and talked back. It threw him for a loop at first, then it just pissed him off. That was his sister and in a way _Katsuki's_ sister. He was not going to put up with that.

He had pulled him aside earlier and started to yell at him.

" _What the hell is your problem?"_

" _What are you talking about?"_

" _Don't act like a dumbass, Deku!"_

All Might ended up separating the two for the time being and left them to their teams to spar. He had all but burnt Soy Sauce face to a crisp.

He actually managed to get a few good hits in, he had to admit that much at least. Though Katsuki only had himself to blame. He had spent a lot of time in his head, trying to figure out that sorry bastard Aqua defended for some reason.

That.

That was the source of his confusion, part of it at least.

He had seen most of what had happened. He had been trying to keep an eye on Deku after he spotted the idiot going after the villain.

He had watched him get beaten down by that villain, he had gained the slightest bit of ground only to lose it immediately. He would have gone to save him, but he had been holding down that misty bastard.

He ended letting him go when he went to go save the nerd. The charm in his pocket was practically burning him, more and more with each passing moment. As if compelling him to get to Deku.

He had barely gotten there in time, he hadn't expected the idiot to get eye patch guy to aim at Handjob. He also hadn't expected the mist man to react fast enough to aim the blast right back at them. Katsuki had dealt a good blow before taking off.

Then there was Aqua's fight. He had been able to keep an eye on her as well. Though it was difficult at times she would move too quickly for someone to catch.

It most certainly threw him for a loop when he saw her discard her Keyblade to save her brother. Then he was thrown for another one when he saw that dark shadow save her.

The same one that beat down Izuku.

He wasn't quite sure what the hell happened in the fight. Especially with that ray of light, she blasted at the villain and that strange orb that came from its chest. He hadn't failed to notice the weird color swap he had gone through.

Still, though, the man made him feel uneasy. Perhaps it was due to the fact he tried to kill Aqua and Deku.

Even with that fact, Aqua had been trying to keep him from prison. Trying to keep him out and keep him close.

He didn't miss the confused and irritated glances from Aizawa, how the other teachers were now wary of her. Hell, he even noticed the borderline hostility All Might had towards her.

Sure, All Might was the top hero. The idol he was going to surpass, but in the case of loyalties, he'd always stay in Aqua's corner.

It pissed him off to see that they had begun to push her away, yeah Aqua was weird in her own sense. She always has been, but she always had a reason for the things she does. She's not the kind of person to go about doing things at random. So there had to be a reason for her defending that guy.

As much as he'd like to blow him to bits, there was something else to it. There always was.

That nagging feeling wasn't going to leave him until he got his answers. He had been sitting on it all long enough.

He was snapped back to reality when the bell rang, he heard some chatter from the extras as he quickly packed up.

"Hey, Bakugo!"

"What do you want Shitty hair?" He glared at the redhead.

He put on his usual frown in response to the toothy grin he got.

"We're planning on going to the arcade to unwind. You wanna come with us? I hear they brought in a new game, it's a 1v1. Wanna face off?" He looked hopeful.

Katsuki listened to him go on as he looked out the window, eyes widening when he saw Aqua standing outside.

"Not today Shitty hair, now get lost." He slung his bag over his shoulder and began to speed walk out of there.

Although he hadn't missed the quick exchange between Shitty hair, Raccoon eyes, and the Knock off Pikachu.

"Aw man…"

"Come on, let's go."

"He said not today, so I guess that's a start, huh?"

He could practically _hear_ Aqua telling him to go with them.

" _You shouldn't push other people away, Katsuki."_

" _Why not? They're not as good as me, they're just a bunch of extras! I'm awesome, like you!"_

" _You keep that up you're not going to have anyone there for you. You'll find yourself all alone. Don't put yourself on a pedestal Katsuki, you need people. And there are people out there who need you."_

He growled to himself as he took off at a run, making a few people clear away from him.

He pushed past people as he flew down the stairs, taking two steps at a time. His face was enough to get people out of his way, which only made it easier.

Soon enough he ran through the front doors of the school, seeing Aqua up ahead. She pocketed her phone with a sad, yet frustrated expression. She was about to walk forward when he raced up to her.

"Sis!" He called out, panting. He stopped behind her, watching her turn around.

"Katsuki? What's wrong, everything okay?" She looked over him.

He caught his breath before standing up straight and looking her in the eye.

"Sis, we need to talk." He huffed.

She raised an eyebrow, about to say something when he continued on.

"What the hell is going on?"

She let out a long sigh. "Katsuki-"

"And don't give me that don't worry about it spiel. There's so much shit going on, and I want to know. What the hell is up with the guy? He tried to kill you and Deku, and that eyepatch bastard? Deku won't tell me anything. But I want to know."

Aqua looked over Katsuki with a bit of shock.

"You don't do anything without a reason, Sis, so what the hell? What is going on?"

The air was quiet for a bit before students began to stream out. Too many people around to talk about it.

"You gotta be kidding me." He growled, glaring at the groups of people.

He looked ready to yell at them when she ruffled his hair.

"How about a sparring session?"

 **-LotF-**

"The Sport's Festival," Terra muttered to himself.

He had been hearing a lot about it as the days went by. Some regarded it with excitement and others seemed to dread it.

He ended up asking Aqua about it, and he had to admit it sounds pretty fun.

An event where the students got to show off their skills and fought against one another. There were other events before the fights though, just to whittle down the numbers.

If he had to make a comparison, it was just a more intense version of Olympus Coliseum. He'd have _fun_ doing something like that.

Or at least he would.

He sighed to himself and turned the corner.

He had been kicked out of the teacher's lounge after someone had come in wanting to talk to Aqua. They refused to say anything with him around.

He was supposed to hang out outside the door and wait for the conversation to end.

Instead, he opted to wander around. He knew that might not have been the best idea, but hey he was all he was looking for was the gym. He wanted to move around, train a bit. He was tired of being idle.

He walked to the gym pretty much every day so he knew where he was going. And it was after school so no one was in the halls. No one would see him and flee.

He had been spending a lot of time in his head the past few days. In his room when he couldn't sleep, when he was just standing off to the side…it was all he could do.

He would stay up most nights in his 'room'. He would spend most of his time thinking back to the events of 10 years ago.

He was free, that he would always be grateful for. But it would never wash away the guilt he felt. He knew it was all his fault, it always traced right back to him. The reason his friends were separated, why so much chaos was caused. Why Aqua was currently in her own misery, alone and trying to explain herself. Despite the rules that would be broken.

Why everyone was on edge. Why that Izuku kid was terrified of every waking day to come to the school. Why the relationship between him and Aqua was so strained.

It all drew back to him, and the stupid, stupid mistakes he made. It made him frustrated to no end, he had no way to fix it. He would never be given the chance. He _wanted_ to though, he really did. He wanted to talk to that Izuku kid, he wanted to take back all the pain he caused his friends and everyone else.

If he could turn back time to fix it all, he would.

Aqua has assured him, again and again, that she didn't blame him. That it was Xehanort's fault, it didn't change a thing.

Deep down, a part of him swore up and down that she still blames him for it all. And she was right to. He would never hold that against her. He would never be able to amend for what he's done.

He was snapped from his thoughts when he smacked into the large door he's passed through time and time again. He groaned and held his nose, eyes tearing up a bit.

"Agh, watch where you're going Terra." He muttered to himself. He waited for the pain to pass before walking inside, confident there would be no one inside. After all, why would anybody stay after school? Especially with what he's seen the assignments the kids have to do.

He got his answer when he heard a loud yell and a crash, followed with a pained groan.

"Ow…" He heard a voice mutter, "Okay, bad idea. I should have waited…"

He frowned to himself and walked forward, wanting to make sure the person was okay. He also thought that he'd have to make his way back since someone was already occupying the space.

"Hey." He called out. "Are you okay?" He asked. He ended up stopping in his tracks when he saw who it was.

On the ground was a certain green haired teen. He held his arm and shook his head. He looked at Terra to give an answer and blanched at the sight.

The two stared at each other for a moment before Izuku scrambled to his feet and backed up.

He said nothing for a moment before shuffling to the other side of the gym. Putting a considerable distance between them. He watched Izuku's eyes dart around before settling on something, and his gaze landed on the man.

"W-What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice feeble.

Terra put his hands up. "I wanted to do a bit of training myself. You get tired of being idle after a while."

Izuku narrowed his eyes at the man and took another step back. Clearly, he had a different idea of what Terra probably considered training.

An uncomfortable silence sat in the room as they watched each other. After a while Terra sighed and walked away, going over to a rack where students took mock weapons of their own. He grabbed a weapon he saw closest to his former Keylade. Similar to the weight and length, give or take.

He went over to some of the training dummies, readying himself. Before he began he looked to the trembling boy in the corner.

"I really am here to train. Just letting off some steam." He tried to assure him. "Listen, I'll stay on this side if it makes you comfortable. Okay?"

Izuku said nothing, he just kept an eye on him. He slowly walked over to the area diagonal of him, a reasonable distance.

He was surprised the kid hadn't run away to tell someone about the 'villain'. Granted, he probably thought the moment he left Terra would make a run for it.

Terra took a deep breath and began his attack on the dummies. He slashed and dodged away from the nonexistent attacks, dashing forward before slashing again. As he darted around the small group of dummies he heard the sound of someone landing blows on solid items.

So he was training too? For the Sports Festival?

Why though? Wasn't the training he did during the school day enough? Didn't he just want to head home?

He stopped his assault on the dummies to catch his breath. It had been forever since he got to train. Though his body was still in decent condition he couldn't deny that it felt just a bit weaker than he remembered.

He shook his head and readied himself. He could hear his Master's voice in the back of his mind.

 _Again._

He yelled as he jumped forward once again, bringing down the wooden blade hard on the dummy. He moved onto the next one, blocking an imaginary attack before countering. He packed more force into his swings this time around, knocking the enemies to the ground.

It didn't take him too long to knock them all to the ground, a few of them seeing a bit worse for wear.

 _You could have gone a bit easier on those things. The kids use those._

He wiped away some of his sweat before setting up the mannequins again. Once he caught his breath he readied himself once more. Planning a slightly different approach, he couldn't just bash his way through with force. He had to be ready to take on any kind of enemy, especially if he planned on going after Xehanort at some point.

Or worse yet, if Xehanort planned on coming after them at some point.

Admittedly Aqua was probably a lot stronger than him, considering she had more than 10 years under her belt. She had gotten stronger and had the time to enhance her skills. Meanwhile, he couldn't even summon his Keyblade.

He was weak, and powerless at this point. But that didn't matter. He wouldn't let that get in the way, he'd do whatever it took to make up for what he's done.

He grit his teeth and gave his imaginary opponents a hard stare. He raised his wooden blade, and just as he was about to start again he heard a loud thud from across the way.

He looked over to the source of the noise, seeing Izuku on the ground holding his arm. The same one he had presumably injured before. He grunted before getting to his knees, keeping his head down.

Terra frowned to himself, dropping the weapon and walking over. As he made his way over he heard him muttering to himself.

"Egg in the microwave, egg in the microwave, egg in the microwave…" He furrowed his eyebrows as red lines began to race down his arm. He grunted and slowly made his way to his feet, tiny flames licking at his skin.

He was about to say something when he changed his mantra.

"Keep it down. Keep it down. Keep it down." He seemed to grow increasingly frustrated. The flames had died down a bit, but it seemed that the red lines had disappeared.

He opened his eyes and yelled in frustration, his power had shut down in his attempts to get rid of the flames. In his anger a few flames flared out and burned him, seeming to irritate him further.

Terra watched as he grit his teeth, trying to reign in his power. Before he seemed to just slouch over himself, the flames slowly going out.

Izuku looked exhausted, dark bags hung under his eyes. He looked a little pale as well.

He was panting trying to catch his breath, he didn't even finish recovering before he stood up straight. Ready to try again, not knowing Terra had watched that whole ordeal.

"Hey wait, hold on." He hurried forward, startling the boy. "Give yourself a minute, take a breather."

Izuku wasn't able to say anything, just backing up. It took a moment before he was able to gasp out. "Get away from me!"

Terra froze in place, before taking a few steps back. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

Izuku stared at him for a bit before shaking his head. He was focusing on catching his breath, while he was doing that he ended up falling over. He laid on his back, sweating up a storm.

Terra frowned to himself and looked around, spotting a yellow bag with a half-filled water bottle. He ran over and grabbed the bottle before returning to the teenager.

"Here." He held out the bottle. Izuku momentarily glared at him before snatching it from his grasp. Sitting up and looking over the bottle before taking a long drink.

While he drank Terra took the time to sit down with him, not right next to him. But what he figured was an acceptable distance.

"Better?" He asked.

He didn't get much of an answer, just a wary look.

Terra sighed and nodded, of course, he wasn't going to say much. He wasn't a person worth trusting in his eyes.

They sat there for a while, an awkward silence settling between them. Izuku kept his gaze away from the man, picking at the floor while Terra began whistling nervously.

The brunette looked around the room, his mind whirring miles a minute.

"You know...I've been wanting to talk to you for a while." Terra started, seeing Izuku flinch at that. "But I haven't been able to do that, clearly. You know with all the security stuff, and keeping me in line. Not that I would step out of it." He rubbed the back of his head. "I-"

Izuku looked over to him. "Are you going somewhere with this?" He asked, frowning at the man.

Terra looked at him in surprise before nodding yes. He took a deep breath and looked to Izuku. "I've been wanting to say, that I'm sorry."

The teenager gave him a look before he continued.

"I don't have the whole picture, I've tried looking back I really have. But I only get bits and pieces back. I remember enough though, and I am so sorry. I didn't want to hurt you."

"Then why did you?" He snapped, scooting away a bit. He looked away and kept talking. "You say you're sorry, but you seem to forget you were the one who nearly killed me after your monster beat the crap out of me."

Terra watched him. "I wasn't in control then. I didn't have a choice of what I wanted to do or not. Do you really think I wanted to keep beating down on you? The minute I came to, I managed to stop myself before I was dragged back down. I _saw_ what I did to you, I would have stopped myself sooner if I could."

He brought his knees to his chest, keeping his head turned.

Terra let out a long sigh and shook his head.

"Clearly, you don't like me."

No response.

"I know a lot of that is on me, it always has been and it always will. I can't even begin to atone for what I've done. Also as much as I hate to say it, some of it is probably because of Aqua too huh?"

Izuku grunted and narrowed his eyes, tensing up.

"Listen, coming from one person who's grown up with her to another. Aqua can...she can unintentionally hurt you. Even when she's trying to help."

"So her saving you from Tartarus was helping me?"

"Well, not exactly. But that's not my point. I remember I felt hurt, betrayed when she told me she had been keeping an eye on me. It felt like she didn't trust me, and it hurt. It made me upset. "

"Then there's you, with me coming around and being given some sort of immunity probably hurt you too huh? I scare you to no end, and to see the person you call your sister protecting me? You feel like you can't trust her, and you just want to push her away. Believe me, I've been there."

Terra had gotten a bit closer, seeing Izuku was now gritting his teeth.

"You're entitled to your anger, I recognize that. But don't let it consume you, don't push away the people who want to help. Don't shut Aqua out."

Izuku grunted as he suddenly stood up. "Why not? She shut _me_ out, for years! She abandoned me and left me alone. Why shouldn't I push her away when she did the same to me?"

Terra stood up with him, towering over him.

"I'm not saying she's not at fault Izuku, I never said anything like that. But what I am saying is that you shouldn't let your anger fuel your decisions. That's just going to cause you more pain, don't push away your magic just to spite her. Don't reject her at every opportunity, you think she's not suffering too?"

He let out an irritated groan and turned away. He began to tug at his hair and pace away from him. "What do you care what I think of her? Why do you even care what I think about you if you know where I stand on my view of you? What's the point in saying sorry, it doesn't change anything you've done!"

"Because you don't know the whole story Izuku." He raised his own voice. "You don't know what's happened. Why, or how. Heck, even _when_. So much of this happened years ago! And you're right, I can't change what I've done but that doesn't mean I don't want to make up for it."

That shut Izuku up quickly.

Terra took a deep breath before continuing.

"I messed up I know that, and a lot of people have paid for it. I want to make up for it in any way I can. And, I guess starting with you is the best way. I can offer all the apologies I want, but that won't do anything." He gave a hesitant smile and held out a hand.

"I want to help you in any way I can. Whether it be answering any questions you have or just...I dunno giving you a pep talk. I'm willing to give it a try."

Izuku stared at him for a long time, looking between his eyes and his outstretched hand.

He wasn't sure what was going through the kid's mind, but with the hard stare he was given Terra thought he would be rejected.

A heavy silence sat between them for what felt like forever, before another hand grasped his.

"Fine, but you have to answer any questions I have for you." He said firmly.

"I was already planning on that." Terra grinned.

"Also, don't call me Izuku. Call me Midoriya."

 **-SotP-**

 **I was originally planning on this chapter being a lot longer, but I thought it would be best to end it off here. That's all I really have to say about this chapter**

 **I don't have that much else to say other than it's super late. Uh if you wanna ask any questions or yell at me I have a Tumblr at Silverbit**

 **Have a nice day/night everybody!**


	15. Chapter 15

**To the Starting Line**

The amount of rage he felt was ungodly.

There was no way, no possible way he has ever felt angrier than this. It had to be impossible.

"Don't you do it." He growled, staring down.

Green eyes stared at him in defiance, hiding a cocky smirk. He was going to do it anyway, despite his feeble plea.

"Plus 6, Yellow." Izuku placed a blank card down.

"Are you serious!" Terra all but screeched. "Are you...Izu-Midoriya I already have 16 cards."

"I wanted to train and ask you questions, instead you made me teach you how to play Uno." Izuku snapped.

"Listen we need SOME kind of trade off kid, be happy I'm not asking you how to use a toaster." Terra shot him a look. He grumbled as he sifted through his bad draw for a measly yellow. "Besides you needed a break."

"I thought me not running away from you in absolute terror _was_ the trade off." Izuku raised an eyebrow.

Terra glances at him. He had a mouth on him, was that from Aqua, or that angry kid he called Kacchan? Or was it just due to the exhaustion? Either way, he kind of had a point. But still.

"You can put down matching numbers right?"

"Yes."

"But you can't count downwards or upwards with them?"

"No."

"Why though?"

"I don't know, I didn't make the rules."

"...So we can bend them?"

"No!"

Terra groaned and put down his only 1. He was hoping the color wouldn't change anytime soon.

Oh, there it goes.

"You just have so much hate for me don't you?" Terra glared at him as he drew card after card.

"No, you're just bad at cards." He muttered, looking between the two cards he had left.

"No, you're just bad at cards." Terra mimicked him, making his voice slightly higher.

Izuku frowned at him, earning a laugh from Terra. It was the same look Ven would give him whenever he teased him the same way. Though Ven would start laughing alongside him shortly after.

Izuku gave him a look before placing down one more card.

"I win."

"What! How?"

"I ran out of cards. I win, and you lose."

"Don't you have to go through the whole deck?" Terra asked, desperate for some kind of win.

"No."

He sighed and placed down his cards. "Alright, fine. But since you taught me to play Uno I'm going to teach you how to play another card game." He began to gather the cards and put them away, pulling out a normal pack.

"Where did you get those anyway?" Izuku raised an eyebrow. "And I thought we were gonna spar afterwards."

"Aqua was nice enough to give me cards to entertain myself. And we've been at it for a long time. I think today is good for a break. You keep going and you're gonna run yourself ragged." Terra hummed as he shuffled the cards.

"I'll be okay." Izuku snapped, feeling a bit of heat rise from his arms. "I don't have time to just sit around and play cards. I don't have a lot of time left."

Terra raised his eyes to look at the boy, taking notice of the small flames on his arms. He sighed and started setting the cards out.

"You're worried for the Sports Festival huh? I notice a lot of your classmates are." he handed Izuku some cards. "Aqua told me about it, I'm not gonna lie it sounds like fun."

"Hmph." Izuku looked over the cards he got.

"Take out six cards and set down the rest. Make sure they're face down."

Izuku did as he was told, looking over to a 4x4 pattern on the floor.

"Alright, so we're gonna play a game called Kings and Queens. The goal is to match the King and Queen with the same symbol. So there are going to be a total of four pairs. You put down a card and try to find the matching card. The missing four are all in here." He gestured to the 16 on the floor.

"You have three chances to find the matching card. If you can't find it then you have to draw another card."

"What about matching the other cards?" Izuku looked up. "And how do you win."

Terra grinned. "You have to have most of the King and Queen pairs, if you have one and I have three then it's an automatic win. If we're tied then it's all depending on who gets the most pairs. As for the other cards...uh well I guess we can do it by number. The cards you're supposed to play this with weren't available. So I'm working with what I got."

Terra smiled as he placed down a card and turned over another, making sure Izuku couldn't see the symbol. He sighed and placed it back face down and nodded to him.

"Your turn. Just choose any card."

He did as such.

They went on like that for a while, slowly dwindling down the cards in the middle. Both getting frustrated after a while. Terra had 2 King and Queen pairs, one more and he'd win by default.

"Where did you even learn this game?" Izuku muttered, narrowing his eyes as he made a pair.

"My master taught me this game. I'm not the best, but it's still fun. I'm still better than Aqua though." He let out a sigh as he drew another card. "Though neither of us can even come close to Ven. He's always been good at this game."

Izuku glanced up in confusion.

"Ven?"

Terra stopped, sitting up straight and looking to Izuku. He seemed to think over his words before speaking.

"Ven, he's...he's a friend of mine. It's been a while since I've seen him."

Too long actually.

"Does Aqua know him too?"

Terra nodded. "Yeah, he's our best friend. We've known each other for a few years. He was about your age last time I saw him."

He might still be that age. If it happened to him, then it might have happened to him. Granted their situations are different.

"How long ago was that?" Izuku asked.

Terra sighed. "Over 10 years now."

Izuku stared at him for a time, seeming confused how to feel about this knowledge.

"He's not...is he-" Izuku hesitantly asked.

Terra's eyes widened after realizing what he was asking.

Oh, he thought he meant Ven was... _Oh_.

"No! No no no, god no." Terra waved his arms. "He's okay, I know he is. Aqua said she hid him away in a place only she knows. He's safe, he's fine."

Izuku stared at him for a long time. "Hid him away? Why would she-huh?" He furrowed his brows.

Terra smiled as he placed down his third pair of Kings and Queens.

"I win."

His attention was quickly turned to the game at hand, seeing the three pairs.

"What!"

Izuku had none pairs of the needed cards, only miscellaneous pairs. He lost badly.

Terra grinned as he packed up the cards, enjoying Izuku's bewilderment. He watched the teenager turn over a few cards and frown at the location of one. The last one he had suspected.

"Alright." Terra spoke as he stood up, taking the last card. "That's enough for today. I'd say we had good games. You should head home, I'd say it's pretty late."

"It's only 5." Izuku argued.

"My internal clock is still kinda messed up, it's pretty late." Terra repeated. "I suppose we can pick this up tomorrow huh?"

"You mean card games or training?" Izuku tilted his head.

"Depends, if you don't look exhausted in class I suppose we can train." Terra turned to look at him, feeling a bit of excitement rise.

"Excuse me?" Izuku deadpanned.

"You heard me." Terra yawned. "Anyway, I better get back to where I'm supposed to be before I get Aqua in trouble." He waved as he left the gym. "See you tomorrow."

 **-SotP-**

Aqua sighed as she looked over paperwork, she hadn't gotten much sleep as of late. Caught between trying to pacify the others; the stress of talking to Tensei; and now the numerous sightings of strange creatures.

They've become more and more frequent with no pattern whatsoever. They came at random times, random places. One particular detail she noted was the lack of attacks. The creatures were spotted, and seemed to be idle before disappearing. As if they were looking for something.

But looking for what?

She's gotten notices from a few other countries where she and Tensei have been, though a majority seem to stay in Japan. Scattered about the cities.

She groaned and leaned back, rubbing her temples. She glanced over to her phone and saw it was 2:21. She turned the phone face down and rested her head on the table. She felt herself beginning to drift off when a hand rested on her shoulder.

She jolted and sat up, looking behind her to see Inko with a disapproving look.

"I see that you haven't been able to break this bad habit of yours." She sat beside Aqua.

Aqua stared at her before laughing. "Yeah, yeah I haven't." She leaned back and pushed some of the papers away. "It's a lot. Just one thing after another."

Inko looked worried, glancing at the paperwork. "Have you talked to Tensei at all?"

"I've been trying. But he won't take my calls, and as much as I'd like to leave my job on time and go after him, I can't."

"Why not?"

"I have to go over assignments and all _this_." She gestured to the scattered papers.

"And what might all that be?" Inko got up and began to make some tea.

"Reports of creatures, all over the place. They haven't made a move or attacked, they just appear and disappear. I honestly think they're looking for something, though I don't have any evidence to prove that. And even if that was true I have a vague idea what they might be looking for…"

"What do you think they're looking for?" Inko kept an eye on the kettle.

Aqua grimaced and stayed silent for a moment before speaking up.

"I'm afraid they might be looking for Terra...maybe even Izuku."

She heard something fall onto the counter.

"E-Excuse me?" Inko looked over.

Aqua bit her lip, she kept her gaze away from her mother.

"I'm afraid they might be after Terra for...obvious reasons. They had him once, they want him again. Though for what I have no clue. As for Izuku...I think someone might be after him for his powers."

Inko stared at her in silence.

"He can't wield a Keyblade just yet, but I know he's getting close. It's somewhere in him, though his resentment for me might be hindering that. Not to mention his Quirk…" She began biting her thumb.

"...It's a lot." Inko muttered,

"It is."

Aqua stayed quiet for a moment. "Then again I could be wrong, I could just be jumping to conclusions."

Inko walked over and placed a cup beside her.

"That doesn't mean something big isn't coming."

"What are you talking about?"

The young woman shook her head.

"I'm not sure but...it just feels like something bad is going to happen. Like something is coming. I'm scared that I might not be ready, even worse Izuku might not be ready. And then Terra, he's-"

She placed her head on the table.

"I just don't want history to repeat itself. At all. I don't want to lose anyone again." She murmured.

Inko stared at her for a time before placing a hand on her arm. "Aqua, you already are. From what you've told me your friends are pushing you away because they _don't know._ This is something you can't just hide away and hope it'll work out for the best at the last minute. Look how that's turning out for you."

Aqua was silent.

"I'm the only one who knows, and I'm sorry I can't help you. But your friends can."

"So what exactly are you saying?" She already knew, but she needed to hear it out loud. At least once.

"Aqua it's time for you to tell them the truth."

 **-LotF-**

"Alright then, come on!" Terra yelled, holding up a wooden sword to block a punch. He let the blade take the hit and swung it forward. Hitting nothing as the boy jumped back.

Izuku grunted as he sent power through his arm, willing himself to keep control of the flames and Quirk. He rushed forward and threw his fist forward, missing as Terra dodged to the side and grabbed his arm. He grunted as he threw Izuku to the ground, knocking the air out of him.

Terra caught his breath before kneeling down to his level.

"You okay?"

He got a noise of frustration as Izuku sat up, still catching his breath.

"Again." He coughed. Izuku quickly got to his feet.

"You don't wanna take a break?" Terra asked. "Get some water, finish catching your breath?"

Izuku shook his head.

"Come on." He cracked his knuckles and grit his teeth, Determination shone through his eyes.

"Alright then." Terra shrugged.

Again and again they faced off with each other. Each time Terra had managed to knock him down, taking a few hits himself. Izuku grew more and more frustrated, his anger only rising as the flames came forward.

"Argh!" Izuku yelled as he forcefully pushed down the flames, grunting as they seemed to push against him and flared out. Burning his arm and the sleeve of the gym uniform.

Terra watched, not sure how to approach the boy as he struggled to get his magic under control. Izuku yelled as the flames suddenly snuffed out, leaving the air hot and thick. He grunted as he fell to his knees, holding his right arm.

The burns didn't look too bad, thankfully.

"Why won't it just stay down!" Izuku growled. "I don't want to use it so why is it-" He groaned in pain and leaned forward to press his head to the ground.

Terra threw the wooden blade to the side and walked forward, sitting down beside him.

Izuku had been struggling with his magic a lot lately, especially when he was in combat. He had spent so much time suppressing it, it was bound to start pushing back.

"You know I've noticed something about your flames, and your uh Quirk." Terra started.

"That I can't control them. Yeah I know, I'm working on it." Izuku snapped.

"Hey." Terra gave him a look. "There's no need to get bent out of shape. I'm just making an observation. You've been rushing whenever you get your Quirk powered up in your arm, since the last time you let it go for too long the flames kind of flared out."

"I think everyone can see that Terra." Izuku frowned.

"Let me finish." He huffed. "You focus all your power in one spot, and that seems to affect your magic too. You can't quite separate the two just yet, I guess since you don't know how the two feel."

"...What?"

"Well I mean, and I'm kind of spitballing here. Like, uh...Aqua! I remember back then she compared her magic to a well. She used to only be able to take some at a time. Like cupping her hands and taking out a bit. But that's barehanded. With a Keyblade she can use as much as she wants. Whether it be a small burst of fire, or a huge wave of ice. The Keyblade acts as an amplifier, and a focus item. It's a lot easier to cast magic with an item to help channel it, rather than barehanded."

"Aqua uses barehand a lot." Izuku sat up straight and crossed his arms as best he could.

"Our Master made her learn barehanded casting first. Not to mention she hadn't been able to manifest a Keyblade yet. Like you."

"No! Not like me, I am _not_ getting a Keyblade. She didn't pass that down to me, I just got her stupid magic."

Terra sighed and leaned back. "Why are you so against getting a Keyblade? I mean, it's not a bad thing. It's not something you can really deny either, so…"

Izuku shook his head and muttered to himself. "Can't deny it this, can't deny it that. Why can't I? I have a Quirk, I don't need Aqua's power. I've gotten this far without it, I don't need it."

Terra gave him a long stare before taking a deep breath. "W-Wow, wow ok. Mido-"

"Mido?"

"Your name is a mouthful. Mido, a Keyblade isn't just a...it's not something that you can just refuse. I mean, you can try, but you'll only hurt yourself in the process." He pointed to Izuku's chest. "A Keyblade is a piece of you, of your heart. Yours is strong, so you're bound to be able to summon one at some point. Keyblade wielders are meant to defend the light, keep the world in balance. To fight back the darkness. Though I'm not gonna lie, your Quirk is kind of a weird factor, I'm not sure how that'll work with it."

Izuku looked over him, opening his mouth and then closing it. Seeming to think over his words. Confusion written over his features.

"Then what, you don't?" He asked. "You don't seem to be able to use a Keyblade, unlike your...dark self."

Terra groaned and shook his head. "Because Xehanort can use one, and he took over my body. Mido, I don't know where _my_ Keyblade is. But I know it's out there, I can sense it but I can't summon it. Watch."

Izuku took a step back as the man held out his hand. He closed his eyes, focusing. A small spark of light appeared at his hand before fading out. His hand trembled as he brought it down. "See?"

"So you're missing a part of yourself? Your heart?" He raised an eyebrow, a bit of disbelief in his tone.

"Yeah, pretty much."

The two were quiet for a time before Izuku spoke up again. "Who's Xehanort? And why would he take over you?"

Terra grimaced, and shook his head. "That, is a long story. Maybe it's better if I tell you over a card game. For now, let's get back to the matter at hand. Your powers. I told you what Aqua compares her magic to, which might help I guess. But what about your Quirk, you have some control right? How do you manage that?"

"I imagine an egg in a microwave."

"An egg in a what now?"

"A microwave."

"That's the box that heats up food right?"

"Yep."

"...So why an egg?"

Izuku nearly slapped himself in frustration. "If an egg is just left in a microwave it'll explode!"

"Oh. So you...just imagine an egg in a microwave. Don't let it explode?"

He nodded.

"That sounds a bit complicated. And kind of boring." Terra laughed.

"So then what's your hot take on trying to keep my power in line huh?" Izuku felt his face turn pink.

Terra scratched at his face, thinking out loud.

"You can sort of separate the two powers, but not very well if you keep focus on you need complete focus in order to control it. Why do you only channel your Quirk in your arm?"

"Well because that's how I use it. I throw punches and stuff."

"And what, you have to focus so...what happens if you don't?"

"The bones in my arm explode." Izuku looked down, shame in his voice.

Terra froze. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. My bones just kinda, explode. My body can handle my power, just not all of it." He stared at his hands.

"So you only channel it through your arms and stuff? Does that help cut it down or something?"

Izuku shook his head. "No it's like...how do I explain it? Oh! It's like a switch, I can either use all of it or nothing. Like right now I'm not using anything, but when I want to use I can only use all of it and break my bones."

"And you have to concentrate in order to use less." Terra crossed his arms. "Huh."

"No words of advice Mr. Supposed Keyblade Master?" Izuku crossed his own arms.

"Well, let me think about it. And I'm not a Keyblade Master, I failed that test."

Izuku sputtered. "Hold on that's a thing?"

"Yep, and Aqua is one."

Izuku groaned and let himself fall on his back.

They sat like that for a while, one cooling down and the other in deep thought. Quite frankly both were at a loss. Until Terra began to think aloud again.

"Hey, you know that All Might guy?" Terra asked after a while. A shudder ran down his spine.

"What about All Might?" Izuku raised an eyebrow.

"I notice you like to spend a lot of time around him. You kind of look up to him, I notice that kind of affects your style."

"What do you mean?" Izuku perked up, curious.

"Well, when I was a kid I looked up to my master. And well, he was my idol. This was before I learned what I did back then." Terra rubbed the back of his neck. "You see, I used to mimic my master's moves a lot. You'd think that'd be a good way to learn, not quite." He smiled to himself.

Izuku frowned. "What do you mean?" He asked again.

"Well, my master is the kind of fighter that has more an all around type of approach. He's balanced if you will, in strength, magic, and speed. I tried that back then, I wanted to be like him so much. Similar to the way I notice you wanna be like your hero guy."

"You mean All Might." Izuku sighed. "Are you going anywhere with this?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm getting there, I'm kind of getting an idea. Just give me a minute. Anyway, I sat down one day. I was frustrated, I wasn't making any kind of progress. In any case I was hindering myself. And after a while I just realized it, I'm not my master." He looked to Izuku. "Like you're not All Might."

"Well I mean duh. Of course I'm not All Might-"

"So I changed up my fighting style. I played to my strengths, and well yeah. I'm more strength orientated. I deal heavy blows and I'm a lot slower, I'm not the kind of person that can be all around like him. You have to change your style."

"Change my style?" Izuku glanced at his hand. "Yeah, I do look up to All Might. But I'm not him."

Terra watched him, he could see the gears turning in his mind.

"I can't control all my power, I can only grasp onto a bit. Even then I don't have good control over it, since everything seems to flare out. I'm just thinking about it too hard. I'm not like All Might, but I try to be…" He stopped for a minute.

The room was silent before Izuku suddenly stood up and looked over to Terra. "I _am_ trying to be like him! I always think of my punches like his. Like his Detroit Smash, or the Texas Smash!"

Terra sputtered. "Hold on, what the heck is a Texas-"

I'm thinking of the flipping switch the wrong way. I always think of it as either all or none. But never nothing then _something_. Just because I use it, doesn't mean I have to use it in one go! I don't have to be at 100% all the time!"

Terra could hear the excitement rising in his voice. "So what are you-"

"I only think of my Quirk as a set of special moves, but not as a part of me. It's not a matter of all or nothing, it's just a matter of turning it on! Like him!" He cut him off again. "I already have that part I can control, I've just been thinking too hard on it."

"So how are you gonna fix your style?" Terra smiled. Though the 'like him' concerned him a bit. Was he referencing All Might again?

Izuku sighed and grit his teeth. Stepping forward to get into a stance. "Uh, if this goes wrong…"

"I know where the infirmary is." Terra nodded.

Izuku grinned and looked forward, closing his eyes in concentration. Part of him was nervous as he grasped onto the kernel of power he knew he could hold. It wasn't much, some part of him was aware of that. That morsel felt insignificant compared to the blinding radiance he's used before.

He grunted as he tightened his hold on that piece of power, focusing on that and only that. He felt a warm sensation bloom from his chest, and spread throughout his body. Power rushing through his veins.

"Sort of." Terra muttered after a while.

For a moment Izuku lost focus and turned around to face the man in horror.

"What do you mean sort of!"

…

"Aqua's gonna kill me, Aqua's gonna kill me…"

Izuku groaned in pain, he couldn't quite manage to form the words, 'Not if someone else gets you first'.

"Well, I mean you almost had it." Terra tried to reassure the boy in his arms.

"I blame...you…" Izuku gasped, holding his arm close to his chest.

He had broken his left arm and right leg after yelling at Terra. Losing control in his worry about _losing control_. One For All had only gone haywire after his flames began to come forward. Beginning to burn him.

He panicked.

 _So much for turning on the switch...I overloaded it instead. Though maybe I had the right idea? Maybe not, I couldn't even move with everything going on…_

He yelled in pain as Terra jostled him a bit.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Terra muttered, looking around. He was near the teacher's lounge, he had a vague idea where the infirmary should be from there. He's been there once or twice himself.

"Listen, I promise next time we train. I'll let you kick the crap out of me first round. Quirk, magic, Keyblade or not." Terra looked around. A right or a left? He couldn't quite remember.

"Ngh."

 _I'm not getting a Keyblade!_

Izuku tried to focus on his thoughts rather than the pain, something to distract him.

 _I tried to think of All Might turning into his...well All Might form. He does that, spreading One For All through his body right? Then again he can control it all, maybe I was wrong in trying that. I'd just break all my body at once. I still have to worry about control…_

There was a few minutes of Terra muttering to himself and trying to navigate the halls, while Izuku distracted himself to the best of his abilities. They stayed like that for a while until a voice spoke up.

One Izuku recognized and was thankful to hear.

"What do you think you're doing, wandering around the halls!"

Alright, maybe not with that tone. But he was still thankful nonetheless.

He felt Terra turn around, he didn't have to open his eyes to see who came rushing forward.

"Young Midoriya!"

"Hi A...Mr…"

He stopped himself as a hand placed itself on his head.

"What did you do to him?" All Might snarled.

Izuku cracked open an eye to see the withered man towering over Terra. His sapphire eyes burning into Terra's deep blue ones.

"H-Hold on, listen while I _do_ take responsibility; I feel like I should say-"

"Recovery Girl...please?" Izuku interrupted.

The man looked down to Izuku and sighed. "Where were you taking him?"

"The infirmary, but I'm a bit lost."

"Sort of know where the infirmary is my butt." Izuku muttered.

"Hey, I was figuring it out." Terra glared down at him. "Besides we are more than halfway there I'm-"

"You are going the opposite way." All Might sighed tiredly.

"Oh." Terra was quiet.

All Might looked down at the boy in the man's arms, then looked to him.

"I'll show you where the infirmary is, and once Young Midoriya is taken care of then I'll deal with you."

Terra nodded and followed the man with a quick pace. Trying not to move Izuku too much.

The teenager stayed quiet, making the occasional noise of pain. After a time it was getting hard to tell whether or not he had passed out or was on the verge of doing so.

The silence among the two men was tense.

All Might looked ready to tear the man a new one. It brought him a special kind of rage to see him holding his boy. Especially when Young Midoriya was injured.

When they had passed the gym the man had finally broken the silence.

"I haven't seen you around the school. Are you a teacher?" He tried to make conversation.

"Hmph." The All Might grunted.

Terra watched him for a bit before sighing. "I see you're not a big fan of me. Like everyone else."

All Might responded with silence, only glancing over to make sure Izuku was still okay. As much as he'd like to just take Young Midoriya to Recovery Girl himself he couldn't. He ran out of time a few hours ago, and he was horribly exhausted. Not to mention that would leave the villain alone in the halls.

The young man looked down, sighing as he slightly adjusted his hold on the boy.

"You're probably just as unhappy with Aqua as you are with me."

All Might turned his gaze to the man, seeing him stare straight ahead.

Terra let out a long sigh before coming to a stop.

"Listen, I know I've done a lot of bad things. I am _painfully_ aware of that. I know a lot of you aren't exactly happy with her decision to keep me out of Tartarus, I get it. You all see me as a threat, a danger to the students." He slowly turned to look at All Might.

"But don't blame her, don't hate her. If you're going to direct your hate, or place your hate in someone; put it on me. I'm the one that messed up, I'm the one that put her in that situation and she's doing her best to protect me. I'm the one that did this. She doesn't deserve it."

Terra gave All Might a hard stare before beginning to walk forward again. "So I just have to take a right here, right?"

When they had made it to the infirmary, neither of them were ready for the anger of the old woman inside.

"What did that boy do to himself this time!"

 **-SotP-**

"So you may be dispatched to Hosu?" Tenya looked up to his older brother

Tensei nodded. "Yeah, I may go there soon." He looked over to see a frown cross Tenya's features. He reached and ruffled his hair before speaking again. "But not after I watch you in the Sports Festival."

Tensei watched his brother smile before looking back to his assignment. He hummed as he went back to his phone, frowning when he noticed a new message.

He sighed and opened the messaging app, seeing a text from Aqua.

' _Hey, I need to talk to you. Can we meet up?'_

He groaned and closed the app, putting the phone down. "You gotta be kidding me…"

"What's wrong?" Tenya asked.

"It's Aqua." Tensei muttered, standing up and walking to the other side of the room. "She's texting me, asking to talk. Again."

"I see. How long has it been since you talked to her?"

"A while." Tensei began pacing, glaring at the device in his hands.

"A while? Well, perhaps you should see what she has to say?" Tenya looked up.

"I won't lie, I'm still pretty mad Tenya."

"I'm aware, but you want answers do you not brother? Last time you had talked about her, you went on about how she wouldn't tell you anything. Now she's offering to talk." Tenya began to make chopping motions with his arms again.

"How do I know she's not just going to be making excuses or lying to me? For all I know she's just going to justify that villain's actions."

"I won't lie, I don't quite understand what Aqua's reasoning for what she's done. But again, if she's willing to say something shouldn't you at least hear her out?"

Tensei grunted and continued his pacing, staring down at the phone. Fingers hovering over the keys.

He wouldn't lie to himself and say that he didn't miss Aqua. He saw how upset she was with what he had said, but he was firm that he had every right to be upset then and there.

He still was.

But at the same time, he was hurt.

They had spent all these years together, a wonder duo. They worked together, lived together, they shared a lot about each other.

How much has she been hiding all these years? He gave her so much of himself, did she really give just as much back?

If he agreed to this, would she give him everything she had left out? All the answers he wanted?

He fumbled with his phone and tapped away at the keys, grumbling to himself. He sent the message and put it down.

 _Fine, when do you want to meet up?_

He didn't even get to walk away before his phone went off again.

 _Tonight, in front of UA. 7:00_

 _Alright._

"Brother?"

Tensei walked out of the room and grabbed a jacket. "I'll be back in a few hours, I'll try not to be out late."

"You're meeting up with her?"

"Yup."

Tenya watched him for a moment before looking down at his work, crossing out one more item before beginning to pack up his assignment.

"Well, I hope it goes well, brother." He smiled.

Tensei nodded and packed up his things before walking out. Bidding his parents goodbye as he went.

…

Tensei had been stuck in his head while on the way to UA. His mind taking itself to all the possibilities and excuses he was sure Aqua could and would use. He felt himself get riled up in anger, only to deflate after some time.

It was a short cycle. Thinking, anger, realization, cooldown. Rinse and repeat.

He only broke off from the cycle when he heard voices just up ahead. He looked up to see three other familiar faces standing outside the gates of UA.

He raised an eyebrow and picked up the pace, calling out and grabbing their attention.

"Shouta, Hizashi, Nemuri!"

They all stopped mid conversation to look up.

"Hey, you're here too." Nemuri looked over.

"Yeah, and I see I'm not the only one she wanted to talk to." Tensei sighed as he stopped before them.

"You're still in town? I thought you had left after the whole...villain fiasco. I thought you two uh..." Hizashi kicked at the ground a bit.

"Hizashi."

"Yes Tensei?"

"Please, not right now."

"Got it."

They all stood in silence for a time, before Hizashi started up conversation, or at least tried to.

"What do you think she wants to talk about?"

Shouta looked over. "Whatever it is, it better be worth it. I still have to help finish setting up the Sports Festival."

"I think you'd do better with more sleep."

"Either way, I'm just hoping she gives us an explanation about all...that." Nemuri sighed. "Aqua has always been strange in her own way, but this just felt out of left field. The whole, protecting the villain thing."

"You mean Terra? Yeah, I gotta agree." Hizashi looked down. "But, he doesn't seem all that bad. I mean, he's pretty chill overall." He thought back to the hospital. "I mean, his first concern was her. He wanted to know where she was, and what happened."

' _It's been 10 years Terra.'_

The mere thought made Tensei's blood boil.

"Either way he's-"

"Hey." A voice spoke up, not too far away. They looked towards the entrance to see an exhausted Aqua. She had a bag strung over her shoulder, gripping tightly onto the strap. Her hair looked somewhat disheveled.

They all went quiet, and just watched as she walked over. Before stopping and leaving a small distance between them.

"...Aqua."

"Blue. What's all this about?"

"I have to tell you something, all of you." She sighed.

"Yeah, obviously." Shouta crossed his arms.

"Shouta!"

"No, no he's...right in a way." She looked down and began to wring her hands. "You guys _do_ have a right to be upset. I haven't exactly been very honest with you all."

Tensei frowned.

"But, I feel like it's time to change that…"

 **-LotF-**

 **Sorry it took so long everybody. Motivation came and went for this chapter. So yay, now we're gonna be moving onto the Sports Festival now! Huzzah!**

 **I really don't have much else to say.**

 **Have a nice day/night everybody!**


	16. A Much Needed Talk

**A Much Needed Talk**

"So…" Shouta slammed a cup down on the table, making the others flinch. "You expect us to believe all that? That the stars in the sky are actually other worlds? That there's an anthropomorphic mouse who's apparently a king, is running around probably looking for you? That there's a crazy old man who's so obsessed with this thing called Kingdom Hearts, light, and darkness that he split your friend in half, stole your other friend's body, then tossed you aside?"

The four stared her down, and Aqua nodded.

"Have you gone off the deep end?" Shouta frowned.

"I understand that it sounds...unbelievable." Aqua started.

"Yeah, no shit Blue."

"But I am telling the truth. It's been over 10 years since all of this happened. For all, I know things have gotten worse out there, and they probably have! Those creatures that have been showing up, they are not of this world!"

"Oh? Then where are they from?" Tensei frowned. "That Vanitas kid?"

"No, these things are not Unversed. The symbols are different, and half of the time these shadow ones _don't_ have symbols. Though the one on the new creatures is different."

"How would you know, you haven't been in your supposed neck of the woods for nearly a decade." Tensei huffed.

Aqua huffed and gave him a look. She was about to say something when Hizashi spoke up.

"It's...a lot." He muttered, grabbing everyone's attention. "It really is. Some of it...kinda lines up? I mean, in the hospital that Terra guy asked me how long he was out. I told him like 2 weeks, he didn't believe me. He wasn't referring to how long since the attack was he?" Hizashi looked at her. "He meant how long he'd been gone."

Aqua nodded and rubbed her temples. She hadn't told them of the World Order yet, she would save that for last. She still had plenty to go over.

"So, if you're supposedly from another world. How did you get here?" Nemuri glanced at her.

"Honestly, I'm not quite sure myself." Aqua leaned back in her seat. "After I hid Ventus so he'd be safe, I went to Radiant Garden." She looked to the side, beginning to replay the memories.

"This was after the big battle?"

"Yes."

"I found Terra there, or at least what I thought was Terra. We hadn't found him after the explosion, and I feared for the worst. I had been so relieved to see him…"

Hizashi sighed. "Only to realize that wasn't him?"

Aqua nodded. "I fought, I thought I'd be able to get Terra back. To set him free. For just a few seconds I had been able to see him. He was right there, fighting back. Until he couldn't. After that, he fell into the Realm of Darkness."

Shouta glared at her. "You didn't…"

"I dove in after him." She nodded.

"Blue…" Hizashi shook his head.

"I was able to get him out, though I lost my armor and my original Keyblade." she flexed her hand.

The other did a double-take.

"Wait! Hold on Blue, original Keyblade?" Nemuri asked.

Aqua nodded, holding up a hand and quickly summoning it. "This was my Master's. Before I had used it to seal away my home...before he was struck down."

She quickly desummoned it with a sigh.

"So where's your original?" Aizawa asked, narrowing his eyes.

Aqua shook her head. "I don't know. I know it's out there, but I can't sense it very well. It's like my connection with it has been severed in a way, if that makes sense."

"But if you were to find it again...could you use it?"

"Yes, I should be able to. It's still my Keyblade." She nodded.

"So, if you were stuck in the World of Darkness-"

" _Realm_ of Darkness." she corrected Nemuri.

"Right, the Realm of Darkness. If you were trapped there, how exactly did you get here?" She asked. "Did someone get you out?"

Aqua sighed and leaned back, looking up at the ceiling. "In all honesty, I don't know." She shrugged. "I had a really bad fight with...even after all these years, I'm not sure what to call her. A reflection of myself? After that fight, I was left weak and half dead. I ended up falling off the winding road and into the darkness below, just as I thought I was going to be consumed by the darkness, a bright light appeared and brought me here."

"A bright light? You know who or what caused it?" Hizashi raised an eyebrow.

Aqua shook her head. "Not exactly, but...part of me has always thought it was Izuku."

The group of heroes stayed quiet for a bit, mulling over Aqua's words. All that she's told them. The different worlds, her previous friends, Xehanort, it was a lot to take in.

Tensei sighed loudly and shook his head, resting his hands on the table. "Why now?"

They all looked at him.

"Why are you telling us all this now? What, did you not trust us before?" He asked, standing up.

"It's not that." Aqua glared up at him.

"Then why?" He raised his voice.

The group was quiet as they watched the two, keeping silent. They didn't want to set either of the two off.

"I will tell you once you settle down." Aqua hissed quietly. "In the meantime how bout to try _not_ to wake up the whole neighborhood."

Tensei raised an eyebrow before sitting down, glaring at her as Hizashi spoke up. "Heh, er Blue I think that's something you should be saying something to _me_."

"Hizashi."

"Yes, my dear friend?"

"Not right now."

"Got it."

Aqua took a deep breath before looking up at them, letting the room return to a normal temperature.

"I didn't tell you for...a certain reason. It's rather stupid now that I think about it since I had already broken the rule once...but that was with Inko."

"Broken the rule?" Shouta deadpanned.

She sighed a nodded. "Yes, well you see there's an old rule that we've been taught since we were kids. Kind of drilled into our heads."

"And what rule is that?" Tensei raised an eyebrow.

"The World Order." She answered, getting confused looks from them all.

"The what now?"

"The World Order, basically since the worlds are separate they should stay that way. No one from any world should know of the others. As far as they're concerned their world is the only one. It was meant to prevent...unsavory repercussions ."

"But the only ones who are supposed to know are people like you. Keyblade Wielders." Shouta grunted. "So why tell us? What are you supposed to get out of it other than some kind of punishment."

"The thing is...I'm scared." She frowned. "These monsters have been sighted all over the place, and it's only becoming more and more frequent. Terra appears after all these years with Braig, with those creatures in tow. I get Terra back, but that's not the end of it, it's far from the end."

She stood up and began to pace. "Something's coming, and I'm not sure when it'll be here. All I know is that it has to have something to do with Xehanort. He lost an asset after I set Terra free but I have a feeling he's going to come back. And something tells me he's not intending to leave empty-handed."

"Aqua, what do you mean?" Nemuri asked.

Aqua ran a hand through her hair as she began to leave a small trail of ice as she walked around.

"I'm afraid he's gonna send someone to come back for Terra." She bit her thumb. "And possibly Izuku…and the other students…"

They all looked at each other. "Why would that old man be interested in the Green Bean?" Hizashi raised an eyebrow

"Because he can use a Keyblade…"

Shouta spit out his drink. "What!" He glared at her. "How? I have never seen him use one!"

"Well, because it hasn't manifested yet." She put her hands up. "But the signs are there, they have been there for a long time."

"Signs?" Tensei asked.

Aqua nodded and held out a hand, ice forming before melting and fire appearing. She snuffed it out and let electricity crackle along her hand before letting it fade and sending a soft gust of wind towards them.

"Magic. Basics such as ice, fire, thunder, and air. He doesn't have the skills to use powerful versions like I can. But he will, once he learns."

"Magic?" Shouta sounded skeptical.

"Go ahead and try to cancel my powers Shouta, you'll find like every time before you can't." She challenged, letting a small flame dance in her palm as he activated his own Quirk.

Like she had promised, the flame did not die out. No matter how long he stared at it. After a moment he deactivated his Quirk, Aqua following suit with her power afterward.

"So those flames that we see with his Quirk are actually…"

"Magic, yes." She nodded. "But for a long time his magic has hurt him, he could never quite handle it. And now, I feel it's only going to do even more damage since he's currently in rejection." She began pacing again.

"Hold on, how does he have a Keyblade? Is that genetic too?" Tensei asked.

"Well, I actually passed it down to him. Accidentally." She looked over to them.

Shouta facepalmed and groaned. "Aqua I swear to god…"

"How do you accidentally pass down a power like that?" Nemuri frowned.

"Er, heh well. Tensei do you remember that night we first met? With the group of villains and that large monster?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Well, a rather unorthodox bequeathing took place after he took my Keyblade to defend me. The power passed on to him."

They all went quiet, watching her. They sat in silence until Shouta spoke up again.

"So why doesn't he have one yet? You passed the power on to him, so shouldn't he have one?"

"Yes, but like I said he's in rejection. He's rejecting the Keyblade just to spite me, he's mad at me." She explained. "Not to mention that Quirk he somehow got might be a strange factor, and honestly I don't know how the two might affect each other. I don't know if they can even co-exist in a person."

"...What if they somehow combined?" Hizashi asked.

"Please do not wish that upon my brother," Aqua begged. "I don't know if that would be worse." She messed with her hair. "Not to mention! I have a feeling All Might had a hand in it, I'm exactly too happy with how much time Izuku spends with him and if anything it feels like he has a bit of favoritism towards him and…" She sighed and stopped herself, heating up the room again.

"If the problem child heats up and cools down a room as you do, I think I'd rather him not manifest any more magic."

"Technically it's a bit late for that Shouta."

Tensei groaned and stood up. "So...what?" He asked. "What are we supposed to do now? What do we do with all this information Aqua? You're from another world, some stuff from your past is coming back to haunt you and...what? What do we do from here? Actually here's a better question, why don't you go?"

"Tensei." Nemuri looked up at him.

"Why don't you go, if there are so many worlds out there? How do you know they don't need you? We seem pretty fine here, so why not go after this guy? Why didn't you go after Xehanort and his partners in the first place?"

"Because I couldn't Tensei! Because I can't!" She raised her voice at him, making him stop in his tracks. "When I first got here, back in the Realm of Light I tried to find a way back. I _wanted_ to go back and find my friends! But I couldn't, do you know why Tensei? Because there are no lanes to this world. There is nothing connecting this world to others, no lanes have been unlocked and I can't go anywhere without the lanes. Not to mention, even if I _was_ able to I don't have my armor and traveling between the worlds without that is dangerous."

"So I stayed and I made the best with what I had. I have a home, I have a family. I have friends here. This is my home Tensei." She sighed and rubbed her eyes. "And you know what I will deal with you right now after I finish up the rest of...of all this."

"And what else is left to talk about?" Nemuri asked after a moment, making the two separate. They sat down across from each other.

Aqua sighed and rubbed her temples. "Honestly, I don't know." She admitted. "I told you all that I can. The monsters, Xehanort...what's sure to be coming next." She groaned. "Izuku. It's all...it's a lot. There's so much, and I have no idea where to go from here."

"What, you telling us about your past is as far as you got?" Hizashi asked.

"Yeah, pretty much."

Shouta shook his head. "We'll keep an eye on the kids. This Xehanort guy might find a use for the other students if he can get his hands on them. Just keep killing those creatures you specialize in. Whether we like it or not that's all we can really do. Unless you have an idea of what else he's up to."

Aqua shook her head. "I don't."

"So we just wait? Stay on guard?" Hizashi asked.

"Yeah, for now that's all we can do." Aqua sighed. "We can't exactly take the fight to him."

"What about someone else? You think there are other Keyblade Wielders who might fight him?" Nemuri looked up.

Aqua shook her head. "Honestly I'm not too sure. The amount of Keyblade Wielders that are _alive_ and that I know of, I can count on one hand. There aren't many of us left."

"You, your friends." Hizashi held up three fingers. "Xehanort, and...Izuku?"

"I'm counting him yes." She nodded.

"Huh, that's...not a lot. Then your friends are out of commission until further notice. Green Bean can't use anything yet, and you're...well you're here holding down the fort."

"This can only end so well." Shouta huffed.

"Well do you have any other ideas for all this, other than you've already said?" Aqua raised an eyebrow.

"No, I can't say I do. But what we're doing feels like the bare minimum."

"It kind of is." She frowned. "But it's all we've got."

"Yeah…" They all muttered, mulling over the new knowledge.

Shouta checked his phone and sighed after a while. "It's late, we should all head home. We've got an early start tomorrow, especially with the Sports Festival right around the corner."

"And by right around the corner, you mean tomorrow." Hizashi stood up and began gathering his things.

"Yeah that's right." Nemuri rubbed her eyes. "Aren't you two acting as announcers this year?"

"Mhm." Shouta grabbed his coat.

"Yup. And you two are gonna be mediators right?" Hizashi pointed at Aqua and Nemuri.

"No, Cementoss took over that position." Aqua crossed her arms. It made sense to her, he was effective at resetting stages and putting up barriers should they be needed. Besides at this point showing off her magic might not be best. "I'm supposed to keep an eye on Terra."

Tensei grunted at that.

"I said I will talk to you in a minute Tensei." Aqua snapped.

"And I think that's our cue to head out," Hizashi noted. "See ya. Please don't kill each other."

"We won't." Aqua answered, watching them leave.

As soon as the door closed that left Aqua and Tensei alone in a tense silence. Leaving them to stare at each other for a long time. They waited until they were sure their friends were gone before either one of them relaxed in the slightest.

"Tensei…" She started.

"So, all that world stuff...why keep it from us? From me?" Tensei asked. "Why keep your friends a secret, all your history just...why? Does anyone else know?"

"My mom." Aqua sighed. "Inko knows, I told her within the first few days she found me. But that's because she spotted me trying to open a gateway."

"That's when you found out you were stuck here?"

"Yeah."

The two looked away from each other.

"Did you ever want to be here? I mean you say this is your home but…"

"This _is_ my home Tensei. I've made a life here, I have a family, friends...you. I won't lie, when I got here I wanted to get out. I wanted to go back, but you have to understand that I had... _have_ a responsibility."

Tensei watched her. "If you had the choice, would you stay? Or would you leave?"

She sighed. "It depends, is the world ending or not? Are my friends safe at home? Is Xehanort out there?"

"Answer the question Aqua."

She shut her mouth, drawing her lips into a thin line.

"I'd wanna stay but…"

"But what?"

"I have another home Tensei, and if I'm not there who would take care of it? Who would take care of Terra and Ven?"

"Why couldn't they stay here?" He asked.

"What if they didn't want to stay here?" She gave him a look.

"Why do you have to go with them?"

"Because they are my family Tensei!"

"So you'd leave us just for them? You'd leave behind Shouta, Hizashi, Nemuri and I? Were we just replacements?" There was a bit of fear in his voice, a bit of hurt.

She slammed her hands on the table, icing it over.

"Tensei that is enough!" She raised her voice, bringing down the temperature of the room.

There was a loud bang somewhere else in the house, she had woken somebody up. That was fine though, it was probably Izuku. He'd just go back to sleep.

She took a deep breath and lifting her hands and sitting back in her seat.

The house was quiet, allowing the two to hear the wind from the outside. The sound of footsteps in one of the rooms, then the creak of a bed.

After a moment she let out another deep breath, producing a bit of steam.

"You are mad at me."

"...Yeah." Tensei watched her, this was one of the few times she had ever lost her cool. Even then it was far from her complete wrath, but this time her anger was directed at him.

"Because of Terra."

"...Yeah."

She leaned her elbows on her knees and held her head.

"Why is Terra a problem?" She asked. "Really Tensei, tell me."

Tensei took a deep breath himself. "Put yourself in my shoes Aqua. I come all the way here to help you and make sure you're okay. I mean...we were already mad at each other but this just felt like the final straw. Yeah we were doing good but...you know…"

"I know." She looked away.

"We were doing good, it felt like we were patching up what had happened a while ago. Then I see you hugging this guy, a villain. Someone who almost killed you and Izuku, who could have hurt so many others. I'm not going to lie you looked a bit too happy around him. You probably would have freaked out if our roles were reversed." He frowned.

"...You're afraid I'm going to replace you?" She looked at him.

"I won't lie, with all this it's kind of feeling like _I'm_ the replacement."

She stopped, gripping her hands tightly.

"...I know that I'm at fault here." She nodded. "But so are you, you should have listened to me, you should have let me explain. I should have told you earlier, all of you. I was trying to protect you, but looking back on it now it was kind of a stupid way to do that huh?"

"Your methods of protection kind of drove a wedge there."

"Yeah…" She looked down, fiddling with her hands for a bit before standing up and going over to Tensei. Hesitantly sitting next to him.

"Tensei listen, I know the way I was 'protecting you' was...not the best." She started. "But I didn't want to lose you."

He gave her a look.

"You were never a replacement, none of you and I am so sorry that I made you feel like that. You were never a replacement for Terra or Ven." She looked up at him.

"I should have told you earlier and I recognize that, believe me I do. I made a mistake there, I really did think it was the best way of keeping you all safe, and out of harm's way."

"By keeping us in the dark?"

"I didn't want to lose anybody else!" She sighed. "I didn't want to lose anybody again. Tensei, you need to understand that my friends knew all of this. We fought against that threat and I lost them! I knew that if you all knew too you'd be just as eager to jump in and fight with me but I didn't want to lose you."

"I was so happy to see Terra because I hadn't seen him in over 10 years Tensei. _10 years_. I finally got him back after I failed him! I was supposed to watch him, make sure he didn't stray too far and I failed. He fell to the darkness because of me. I failed Ventus too! I was supposed to bring him home, and maybe if I had managed that he wouldn't be where he is now. He'd be okay, I wouldn't have had to seal him away and left him alone for all these years!" She raised her voice a bit.

"I couldn't handle losing you all too! I couldn't risk that! And when those creatures appeared I was terrified, I was scared that history was going to repeat itself. And you know what, it might and it still scares me to death."

She stopped herself, taking a deep breath. She brought the temperature back up to normal, realizing Tensei was shivering a bit.

"You put so much of this on yourself." He sighed, bringing a hand up before lowering it again. "Aqua how long have you been living with all...this?"

She laughed bitterly. "A long time."

Tensei went quiet, looking for the right words. Looking between Aqua and the slightly damp carpet.

He gently put one hand over hers.

"Aqua, bad things happen."

She made a noise.

"Let me finish. Listen, bad things happen. And sometimes we try to take all the precautions, and we try our best, but it doesn't work out. We can't prevent everything bad from ever happening. We mess up and we want to fix it but we have to take it one step at a time, and yeah we want to fix it but sometimes we can't do it right away." Tensei nodded.

"Like us." He said after a moment.

She hummed.

"We're a bit...we're in a rough spot."

"Yeah…"

The two were quiet for a bit.

"So...are we okay?" She looked at him.

He was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, I'd say we're...mostly okay. Just promise that you won't keep things like this from me, from any of us anymore. You'll tell us the truth, you'll tell us when you need help. You don't have to do this all on your own."

She smiled softly.

"...Alright."

"I'm serious."

"I know, and I promise."

Tensei took a deep breath and leaned back on the couch.

"I guess we've got our work cut out for us, huh?"

 **-SotP-**

 **I'm finally back!**

 **Sorry, I've been gone for so long, I've been juggling a few fics around and this chapter was kind of hard to write. But I'm finally back!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Also, I've made a discord server if anyone is interested.**

/yFZPD5K

 **Have a nice day/night everybody!**


	17. Announcement

**Announcement**

Hello everyone, I know I've been absent from FFN for a while. Mostly sticking to AO3 as of late and writing my fics from there. Part of that is because I've lost some of my passion for SOTP LOTF.

I started writing this fic about a year ago, and I won't lie I thought this fic would be in an entirely different direction than it is now. A lot of stuff has changed over the year, but I am still interested in doing a crossover of these two fandoms.

I want to go with a somewhat similar concept but done better. I've reread this work again and again and I see a lot I could have done better.

I'm considering restarting this fic. I won't lie, when rereading this I feel like a lot of this is a hot mess. I feel like I can do better and I want to do better. I want to put out something I can be proud of, and at the moment I'm not too proud of this fic.

Again, I want to do better. I want to better the pacing, the story, the writing, and how I handle the relationships between characters.

I'm sorry to those who thought this was a new chapter, but I feel like I should put this out there.


	18. Announcemet 2- New Story is out!

p style="text-align: center;"strongAnnouncement/strong/p  
p style="text-align: center;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;"The new story is up everyone! It's called Heroes of Light!/p  
p style="text-align: left;" /p  
p style="text-align: left;"Also to answer a few questions, my AO3 name is Beribits. I may be crossposting the new story there as well so keep an eye out!/p

AO3 Link:

/users/Beribits/pseuds/Beribits

Tumblr:

You can find me at silverbit


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